Abstract
This study explores the relationships of adult children with their parents, and their impact on the child’s life satisfaction, in Israel and in Germany. Structural equation models tested three types of parental support (practical, emotional, and advice) and emotional closeness as predictors of the child’s life satisfaction. Israeli students aged 21 to 40 years (N = 590) reported significantly more frequent social support and a higher degree of emotional closeness with their mothers than German students of the same age-group (N = 535). Differences between the Israeli and German samples were evident in the association of fathers’ support and the child’s emotional closeness. Significant positive associations were found between the degree of emotional closeness with mothers and fathers and the child’s life satisfaction in both Israel and Germany. These findings suggest that emotional closeness continues to play an essential and universal role in the relationships between adult children and their parents.
Keywords
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
