For families with an early history of parental abuse and neglect (EHPAN), personal and situational stressors can increase relational vulnerabilities. We examined relationship dynamics between midlife adults with EHPAN and their parents during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of semi-structured qualitative interviews with 31 participants (aged 44–50), examined patterns of contact and support to provide insights into relationship dynamics and relational changes experienced during the pandemic. Three relational themes characterized midlife adult child-parent relationships during COVID-19: tightening ties with parents while taking few COVID-19 precautions; keeping customary ties to maintain the status quo centered around instrumental support; loosening ties in which the relationship drifted. We found areas of resilience and vulnerabilities within each type of relationship. Recognizing that past adversity continues to shape relationship dynamics throughout the life course underscores the need for further research to identify factors that contribute to long-term family resilience and challenges.
BengtsonV. L.AllenK. R. (1993). The life course perspective applied to families over time. In BossP. G.DohertyW. J.LaRossaR.SchummW. R.SteinmetzS. K. (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theories and methods: A contextual approach (pp. 469–504). Plenum. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-85764-0_19
2.
BirdittK. S.MillerL. M.FingermanK. L.LefkowitzE. S. (2009). Tensions in the parent and adult child relationship: Links to solidarity and ambivalence. Psychology and Aging, 24(2), 287–295. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015196
3.
CassinatJ. R.WhitemanS. D.SerangS.DottererA. M.MustilloS. A.MaggsJ. L.KellyB. C. (2021). Changes in family chaos and family relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 57(10), 1597–1610. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001217
4.
CorbinJ.StraussA. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). Sage.
ElderG. H.Jr. (1985). Life course dynamics. Cornell University Press.
7.
FingermanK. L.HayE. L.BirdittK. S. (2004). The best of ties, the worst of ties: Close, problematic, and ambivalent social relationships. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66(3), 792–808. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-2445.2004.00053.x
8.
FingermanK. L.HuoM.BirdittK. S. (2020). A decade of research on intergenerational ties: Technological, economic, political, and demographic changes. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 383–403. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12604
9.
FingermanK. L.PitzerL.LefkowitzE. S.BirdittK. S.MroczekD. (2008). Ambivalent relationship qualities between adults and their parents: Implications for the well-being of both parties. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 63(6), P362–P371. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/63.6.p362
10.
FitzgeraldM.HamstraC.LedermannT. (2020). Childhood maltreatment and adult’s provisions of emotional support given to family, friends, and romantic partners: An examination of gender differences. Child Abuse & Neglect, 106, 104520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104520.
11.
FitzgeraldM.MorganA. A. (2023). Childhood maltreatment and provision of support and strain to family relationships in adulthood: The role of social anxious and depressive symptoms. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 40(6), 1987–2007. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075221137320.
GeçerE.YıldırımM. (2023). Family communication and psychological distress in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: Mediating role of coping. Journal of Family Issues, 44(1), 203–219. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X211044489
GuestG.MacQueenK. M.NameyE. E. (2012a). Planning and preparing the analysis. In GuestG.MacQueenK. M.NameyE. E. (Eds.), Applied thematic analysis (pp. 21–48). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483384436
HernandezR. A.ColanerC. (2022). The stakes are so high and it’s happening so fast: Adult children’s perceptions of family role shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(7), 1959–1978. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075221074380
18.
HerrenkohlT. I.FedinaL.HongS. H.LeeJ. O.SabbaS. (2021a). Associations between prospective and retrospective measures of child abuse and self-reported health at midlife. Child Abuse & Neglect, 120, 105203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105203.
19.
HerrenkohlT. I.FedinaL.RobertoK. A.RaquetK.HuR. X.RoussonA. N.MasonW. A. (2022). Child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, and elder mistreatment: A review and theoretical analysis of research on violence across the lifecourse. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 23(1), 314–328. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020939119.
20.
HerrenkohlT.RobertoK. A.FedinaL.HongS.LoveJ. (2021b). A prospective study on child abuse and elder mistreatment: Assessing direct effects and associations with depression and substance use problems during adolescence and middle adulthood. Innovations in Aging, 5(3), igab028. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igab028.
21.
JiangD.FungH. H. (2022). Daily reciprocity and well-being: A diary study of intergenerational support between mothers and adult children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences, 77(4), e46–e56. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab099
22.
KongJ. (2018). Childhood maltreatment and psychological well-being in later life: The mediating effect of contemporary relationships with the abusive parent. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 73(5), e39–e48. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx039
23.
KongJ.MartireL. M. (2019). Parental childhood maltreatment and the later-life relationship with parents. Psychology and Aging, 34(7), 900–911. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000388
24.
KongJ.MoormanS. M. (2015). Caring for my abuser: Childhood maltreatment and caregiver depression. The Gerontologist, 55(4), 656–666. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnt136
25.
LangF. R.SchutzeY. (2002). Adult children's supportive behaviors and older parents' subjective well-being: A developmental perspective on intergenerational relationships. Journal of Social Issues, 58(4), 661–680. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4560.00283
26.
ParkerE. O.MaierC.WojciakA. (2018). Childhood abuse and family obligation in middle adulthood: Findings from the MIDUS II National Survey. Journal of Family Therapy, 40(1), 120–141. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6427.12114
27.
PillemerK.MunschC. L.Fuller‐RowellT.RiffinC.SuitorJ. J. (2012). Ambivalence toward adult children: Differences between mothers and fathers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74(5), 1101–1113. https://10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01004.x.
PineJ.SteffenA. M. (2019). Intergenerational ambivalence and dyadic strain: Understanding stress in family care partners of older adults. Clinical Gerontologist, 42(1), 90–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2017.1356894
30.
PoonC. Y. M.KnightB. G. (2011). Impact of childhood parental abuse and neglect on sleep problems in old age. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66(3), 307–310. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbr003
31.
ReissD.OliveriM. E. (1980). Family paradigm and family coping: A proposal for linking the family's intrinsic adaptation capacities to its responses to stress. Family Relations, 29(4), 431–444. https://doi.org/10.2307/584456
32.
RosenblattP. C.WielingE. (2018). Thematic and phenomenological analysis in research on intimate relationships. In HumbleÁ. M.RadinaM. E. (Eds.), How qualitative data analysis happens: Moving beyond “themes emerged” (pp. 50–63). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315171647
33.
SaundersB.SimJ.KingstoneT.BakerS.WaterfieldJ.BartlamB.BurroughsH.JinksC. (2018). Saturation in qualitative research: Exploring its conceptualization and operationalization. Quality & Quantity, 52(4), 1893–1907. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0574-8
34.
SavlaJ.RobertoK. A.JaramilloA. L.GambrelL. E.KarimiH.ButnerL. M. (2013). Childhood abuse affects emotional closeness with family in mid and later life. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(6), 388–399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.12.009
35.
Segel-KarpasD.AyalonL. (2022). Adult daughters’ emotional response to COVID-19: The role of worry, solidarity, conflict, and ambivalence in the relationship with the mother. Aging & Mental Health, 26(3), 578–585. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2021.1910795
36.
SetterstenR. A.BernardiL.HärkönenJ.AntonucciT. C.DykstraP. A.HeckhausenJ.KuhD.MayerK. U.MoenP.MortimerJ. T.MulderC. H.SmeedingT. M.van der LippeT.HagestadG. O.KohliM.LevyR.SchoonI.ThomsonE. (2020). Understanding the effects of Covid-19 through a life course lens. Advances in Life Course Research, 45, 100360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2020.100360.
37.
SilversteinM.BengtsonV. L. (1997). Intergenerational solidarity and the structure of adult child-parent relationships in American families. American Journal of Sociology, 103(2), 429–460. https://doi.org/10.1086/231213.
38.
SimmonsN. (2017). Axial coding. In AllenM. (Ed.), The Sage encyclopedia of communication research methods (pp. 80–82). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483381411
39.
SuitorJ. J.GilliganM.JohnsonK.PillemerK. (2014). Caregiving, perceptions of maternal favoritism, and tension among siblings. The Gerontologist, 54(4), 580–588. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnt065
VaterlausJ. M.ShafferT.PattenE. V.SpruanceL. A. (2021). Parent–child relationships and the COVID-19 pandemic: An exploratory qualitative study with parents in early, middle, and late adulthood. Journal of Adult Development, 28(3), 251–263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-021-09381-5
42.
von HumboldtS.CostaA.FernandesM.SilvaS.LealI. (2021). Intergenerational relationships: Do older adults experience ambivalence with their adult children?Educational Gerontology, 47(3), 121–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2021.1886633
WrightM. O.CrawfordE.Del CastilloD. (2009). Childhood emotional maltreatment and later psychological distress among college students: The mediating role of maladaptive schemas. Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal, 33(1), 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.12.007.
