Research has consistently reported the association between intergenerational relationship quality and mental health outcomes in later life. However, few studies have examined the link among very old parents and their older children, and even fewer studies investigated whether the relationship quality matters similarly to parents and children. Employing a dyadic approach, this study examined how one’s own and partner’s perceptions of relationship quality (i.e., support and conflict) are associated with depressive symptoms among very old parents and their children. Data from 105 dyads of parents (age 81-97; M = 87.92, SD = 2.80) and their children (age 65-72; M = 65.87, SD = 1.23) in South Korea were used. Results showed that parents tended to report significantly higher levels of intergenerational support and lower levels of intergenerational conflict, compared to their children. Regarding the actor effects of relationship quality, one’s own perceptions of intergenerational conflict were positively associated with depressive symptoms for both parents (β = 0.26, p < .01) and children (β = 0.37, p < .001), whereas intergenerational support was not significant. In terms of the partner effect, intergenerational support (reported by parents) was negatively related to depressive symptoms only for children (β = -0.21, p < .01), but the partner effect of conflict was not significant. The findings highlight the centrality of perceptions of intergenerational relationship in understanding well-being in later life. Further, children’s depressive symptoms were susceptible to how their parents view the relationship. Findings were discussed in the context of Intergenerational Stake Theory.
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机译:研究始终如一地报告了近期生活中的代际关系质量和心理健康状况之间的关联。然而,很少有研究已经审查了非常古老的父母和年龄较大的孩子之间的联系,甚至更少的研究调查了与父母和儿童是否类似的关系质量问题。本研究雇用了二元方法,研究了自己和合作伙伴的关系质量(即支持和冲突)的看法与非常老父母和孩子之间的抑郁症状有关。使用了父母105个二元的数据(81-97岁; M = 87.92,SD = 2.80)及其子女(65-72岁; M = 65.87,SD = 1.23)。结果表明,与孩子相比,父母倾向于报告较高的代际支撑水平和较低的代际冲突水平。关于关系质量的演员效应,对父母(β= 0.26,P <0.01)和儿童(β= 0.37,P <.001)的抑郁症状,对代际冲突的看法与抑郁症状有关,而代际支持不重要。就合作伙伴效应而言,代际支持(父母报道)与儿童的抑郁症状(β= -0.21,P <0.01)呈负相关,但冲突的合作效应并不重要。调查结果突出了对较幸福的生活中对代际关系的看法。此外,儿童的抑郁症状易于对父母认为这种关系的影响。在代争性的利益理论的背景下讨论了调查结果。
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