Parental Separation during Childhood and Its Impact on Intergenerational Co-residence, Geographic Proximity, and Nature of Communication between Aging Parents and Adult Children: Evidence from a novel dataset on caregiving.ISER External Seminars

Due to increasing divorce rates, a substantial portion of middle-aged adults experienced parental separation during childhood or adolescence. Parental separation tends to weaken relationships and reduce contact between children and their non-resident parents. Subsequently, these disruptions may affect the contact and support adult children provide to their older parents. Using a novel caregiving dataset, this study examines how the timing of parental separation influences intergenerational exchanges between aging parents and their adult children. The presentation has two sections. The first section describes the collection of the online caregiving dataset in a context with strict privacy regulations during an era of declining response rates. The second section reports findings on how age at parental separation affects intergenerational co-residence, geographic proximity between adult children and older adults, and the frequency and nature of communication between aging parents and their adult children.

Presented by:

Kate H. Choi (Western University)

Date & time:

February 25, 2026 12:30 pm - February 25, 2026 1:30 pm

Venue:

Online


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