This article aims to contribute to the discussion of how adult children affect the well-being of their older parents by investigating the importance of living in close geographic proximity. We investigate whether having children at all, and/or having them geographically proximate, contributes differently to the well-being of older persons living with and without a partner. We enriched survey data for the Netherlands (N = 8,379) with municipal register data and regressed life satisfaction of persons aged 65+ on having children and three different measures of geographic proximity. Having children contributes to the well-being of older men with a partner. There is evidence for a positive association between proximity of children and parental well-being, in particular for widowed and separated mothers and for separated fathers. Our findings suggest that close proximity may be a condition under which adult children can significantly add to the well-being of widowed and separated mothers and separated fathers.
BengtsonV. L. (2001). The Burgess award lecture: Beyond the nuclear family: The increasing importance of multigenerational bonds. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 1–16.
2.
BordoneV. (2009). Contact and proximity of older people to their adult children: A comparison between Italy and Sweden. Population, Space and Place, 15, 359–380.
3.
BrehenyM.StephensC. (2009). ‘I sort of pay back in my own little way’: Managing independence and social connectedness through reciprocity. Ageing and Society, 29, 1295–1313.
4.
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2008). Documentatierapport Integraal Huishoudens Inkomen 2007V2. Den Haag/Heerlen: Author.
5.
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2010a). Database Gemeentelijke Basisadministratie (GBA) 1995-2009v1. Den Haag/Heerlen: Author.
6.
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2010b). Database GBA-Ouder-Kind (GBA-OK) 1995-2009v1. Den Haag/Heerlen: Author.
7.
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2011). Database Periodiek Onderzoek Leefsituatie (POLS) POLSBasis 2003-2006. Den Haag/Heerlen: Author.
8.
De Jong GierveldJ.Broese van GroenouM.HoogendoornA. W.SmitJ. H. (2009). Quality of marriages in later life and emotional and social loneliness. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 64B, 497–506.
9.
De Jong GierveldJ.DykstraP. A. (2002). The long-term rewards of parenting. Ageing International: Journal of the International Federation on Ageing, 27, 49–69.
10.
De Jong GierveldJ.Van TilburgT. G. (1987). The partner as source of social support in problem and non-problem situations. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 2, 191–200.
11.
DienerE.SuhE. M.LucasR. E.SmithH. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302.
12.
DrewL. M.SilversteinM. (2004). Inter-generational role investments of great-grandparents: Consequences for psychological well-being. Ageing & Society, 24, 95–111.
13.
DunérA.NordströmM. (2007). The roles and functions of the informal support networks of older people who receive formal support: A Swedish qualitative study. Ageing and Society, 27, 67–85.
14.
DykstraP. A. (1993). The differential availability of relationships and the provision and effectiveness of support to older adults. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 10, 355–370.
15.
DykstraP. A. (1998). The effects of divorce on intergenerational exchanges in families. The Netherlands. Journal of Social Sciences, 33, 77–93.
16.
DykstraP. A.De Jong GierveldJ. (2004). Gender and marital-history differences in emotional and social loneliness among Dutch older adults. Canadian Journal on Aging, 23, 141–155.
17.
DykstraP. A.HagestadG. O. (2007). Childlessness and parenthood in two centuries. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 1518–1532.
18.
EggebeenD. J. (1992). Family structure and intergenerational exchanges. Research on Aging, 14, 427–447.
19.
FeijtenP.HooimeijerP.MulderC. H. (2008). Residential experience and residential environment choice over the life-course. Urban Studies, 45, 141–162.
20.
GeerlingsS. W.PotA. M.TwiskJ. W. R.DeegD. J. H. (2005). Predicting transitions in the use of informal and professional care by older adults. Ageing and Society, 25, 111–130.
21.
GeorgeL. K. (2010). Still happy after all these years: Research frontiers on subjective well-being in later life. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 65B, 331–339.
22.
GeorgeL. K.OkunM. A.LandermanR. (1985). Age as a moderator of the determinants of life satisfaction. Research on Aging, 7, 209–33.
23.
GreenwellL.BengtsonV. L. (1997). Geographic distance and contact between middle-aged children and their parents: The effects of social class over 20 years. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 52B, S13–S26.
24.
HankK. (2007). Proximity and contacts between older parents and their children: A European comparison. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 157–173.
25.
HansenT.SlagsvoldB.MoumT. (2009). Childlessness and psychological well-being in midlife and old age: An examination of parental status effects across a range of outcomes. Social Indicators Research, 94, 343–362.
26.
HjälmA. (2012). ‘Because we know our limits’. Elderly parents’ views on intergenerational proximity and intimacy. Journal of Aging Studies, 26, 296–308.
27.
HogerbruggeM. J. A.DykstraP. A. (2009). The family ties of unmarried cohabiting and married persons in the Netherlands. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 135–145.
28.
IsengardB.SzydlikM. (2012). Living apart (or) together? Coresidence of elderly parents and their adult children in Europe. Research on Aging, 34, 449–474.
29.
KalmijnM. (2015). Relationships between fathers and adult children: The cumulative effects of divorce and repartnering. Journal of Family Issues, 36, 737–759.
30.
KaufmanG.UhlenbergP. (1998), Effects of life course transitions on the quality of relationships between adult children and their parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 60, 924–938.
31.
KnijnT.LiefbroerA. (2006). More kin than kind: Instrumental support in families. In DykstraP. A.KalmijnM.KnijnT.KomterA.LiefbroerA.MulderC. H. (Eds.), Family solidarity in the Netherlands (Chap. 4, pp. 89–106). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Dutch University Press.
32.
KomterA. E.VolleberghW. A. M. (2002). Solidarity in Dutch families. Journal of Family Issues, 23, 171–188.
33.
Koropeckyj-CoxT. (1998). Loneliness and depression in middle and old age: Are the childless more vulnerable?The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 53B, S303–S312.
34.
Koropeckyj-CoxT. (2002). Beyond parental status: Psychological well-being in middle and old age. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 957–951.
35.
KünemundH.ReinM. (1999). There is more to receiving than needing: Theoretical arguments and empirical explorations of crowding in and crowding out. Ageing and Society, 19, 93–121.
36.
LawtonL.SilversteinM.BengtsonV. L. (1994). Affection, social contact, and geographic distance between adult children and their parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 56, 57–68.
37.
LindenbergS. (1996). Continuities in the theory of social production functions. In GanzeboomH.en LindenbergS. (Eds.), Verklarende sociologie: Opstellen voor reinhard wippler (pp. 169–184). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Thesis.
38.
LindenbergS. (2013). Social rationality, self-regulation, and well-being: The regulatory significance of needs, goals, and the self. In WittekR.SnijdersT. A. B.NeeV. (Eds.), Handbook of rational choice social research (pp. 72–112). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
39.
LowensteinA. (2007). Solidarity-conflict and ambivalence: Testing two conceptual frameworks and their impact on quality of life for older family members. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 62B, S100–S107.
40.
MargolisR.MyrskyläM. (2011). A global perspective on happiness and fertility. Population and Development Review, 37, 29–56.
41.
McLanahanS.AdamsJ. (1987). Parenthood and psychological well being. Annual Review of Sociology, 13, 237–257.
42.
MulderC. H.Van der MeerM. J. (2009). Geographical distances and support from family members. Population, Space and Place, 15, 381–399.
43.
MullerZ.LitwinH. (2011). Grandparenting and psychological well-being: How important is grandparent role centrality?European Journal of Ageing, 8, 109–118.
44.
NieboerA. P.LindenbergS.OrmelJ. (1999). Conjugal bereavement and wellbeing of elderly men and women: A preliminary study. Omega, 38, 113–141.
45.
OrmelJ.LindenbergS.SteverinkN.VerbruggeL. M. (1999). Subjective well-being and social production functions. Social Indicators Research, 46, 61–90.
46.
PavotW.DienerE.ColvinC. R.SandvikE. (1991). Further validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale: Evidence for the cross-method convergence of well-being measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 57, 149–161.
47.
PendellS. D. (2002). Affection in interpersonal relationships: Not just a ‘fond or tender feeling’. In GudykunstW. B. (Eds.), Communication Yearbook26 (pp. 70–115). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
48.
PillemerK.SuitorJ. J. (1991). Relationships with children and distress in the elderly. In PillemerK.McCartneyK. (Eds.), Parent–child relations throughout life (pp. 163–179). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
49.
PinquartM.SörensenS. (2000). Influences of socioeconomic status, social network, and competence on subjective well-being in later life: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 15, 187–224.
50.
RileyM. W.RileyJ. W. (1993). Connections: Kin and cohort. In BengtsonV. L.AchenbaumW. A. (Eds.), The changing contract across generations (pp. 169–189). New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
51.
Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu. (2012). Volksgezondheid Toekomst Verkenning, Nationale Atlas Volksgezondheid. Version 4.9. Bilthoven, the Netherlands: Author.
52.
RogersonP. A.WengR. H.LinG. S. (1993). The spatial separation of parents and their adult children. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 83, 656–671.
53.
RossiA. S.RossiP. H. (1990). Of human bonding: Parent-child relations across the life course. New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
54.
SilversteinM.BengtsonV. L. (1997). Intergenerational solidarity and the structure of adult child–parent relationships in American families. American Journal of Sociology, 103, 429–460.
55.
SilversteinM.GansD.YangF. M. (2006). Intergenerational support to aging parents: The role of norms and needs. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 1068–1084.
56.
SmitsA. W. M. (2010). Moving close to parents and adult children in the Netherlands: The influence of support needs. Demographic Research, 22, 985–1014.
57.
SpitzeG.LoganJ. (1990). Sons, daughters, and intergenerational social support. Journal of Marriage and Family, 52, 420–430.
58.
StevensN. (1995). Gender and adaptation to widowhood in later life. Ageing & Society, 15, 37–58.
SteverinkN.LindenbergS. (2006). Which social needs are important for subjective well-being? What happens to them with aging?Psychology and Aging, 21, 281–290.
61.
SteverinkN.LindenbergS.OrmelJ. (1998). Towards understanding successful ageing: Patterned change in resources and goals. Ageing & Society, 18, 441–467.
62.
SteverinkN.WesterhofG. J.BodeC.Dittmann-KohliF. (2001). The personal experience of aging, individual resources & subjective well-being. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 56B, 364–373.
63.
UmbersonD. (1992). Relationships between adult children and their parents: Psychological consequences for both generations. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 664–674.
64.
Van GaalenR. I.DykstraP. A. (2006). Solidarity and conflict between adult children and parents: A latent class analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 68, 947–960.
65.
Van TilburgT. G. (1995). Delineation of the social network and differences in network size. In KnipscheerC. P. M.De Jong GierveldJ.Van TilburgT. G.DykstraP. A. (Eds.), Living arrangements and social networks of older adults. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: VU University Press.
66.
VictorC. R.ScamblerS. J.ShahS.CookD. G.HarrisT.RinkE. (2002). Has loneliness amongst older people increased? An investigation into variations between cohorts. Ageing and Society, 22, 585–597.
67.
ZhangZ.HaywardM. D. (2001). Childlessness and the psychological well-being of older persons. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56B, S311.
