Family Contact Networks and Well-being in Later Midlife: Differential Impacts of In-Person and Digital Communication

• In Event: 30664 - Social Ties and Networks Across the Life Course

Abstract

Objectives: Despite a growing body of research on the topic of how different types of contact affect family members' well-being, few studies have compared these effects across family members. This study examines how interactions with mothers and adult children uniquely affect later midlife well-being, paying particular attention to the ways in which different types of contact (i.e., in-person interaction, virtual meetings, written digital contact) and gender shape these processes.
Methods: Mixed-methods data were collected from 128 later midlife adults nested within 89 families as part of the third wave of the Within-Family Differences Study. On average, later midlife individuals were 60 years of age, their children were 32, and their mothers were 88.
Results: Quantitative analyses showed that more frequent in-person contact with adult children was associated with higher depressive symptoms, particularly among women; however, no forms of interaction with mothers or any form of digital communication (both virtual and written) with adult children were associated with well-being. Contact with children also had a stronger impact on later midlife well-being than did contact with mothers. Qualitative analyses revealed that frequent in-person contact with children had a negative impact on mothers’ well-being because they occurred primarily during difficult times for adult children, requiring substantial maternal support and causing emotional strain, whereas digital contact (virtual and written) was mainly used for normative communication.
Discussion: These findings highlight shifting intergenerational communication patterns and the influential role of in-person contact with adult children for later midlife women’s, but not men’s well-being. It emphasized the importance of considering types of contact, interactants, and gender differences when studying the impact of familial contact and revealed that “sandwiched generation” women in later midlife may be especially vulnerable to emotional strain from frequent, support-intensive interactions with their adult children.

Authors

• Ranran He, Purdue University

• Destiny Marie Ogle, Purdue University

• J. Jill Suitor, Purdue University

• Megan Gilligan, Iowa State University

• Robert T. Frase, Southern Illinois University

• Viridian Verbanac, Purdue University