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How Much Can Be Expected of One Child? Consequences of Multiplexity of Mothers’ Support Preferences on Adult Children’s Psychological Well-Being

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Social Networks and the Life Course

Part of the book series: Frontiers in Sociology and Social Research ((FSSR,volume 2))

Abstract

The role of social support in psychological well-being has been a major area of study for social scientists for more than four decades. This chapter investigates the consequences of support processes from the perspective of the provider, bringing together perspectives from family gerontology and social networks. With data from the Within-Family Differences Study (WFDS), this chapter explores whether multiplexity in older mothers’ differential preferences for support from their offspring predict adult children’s depressive symptoms. Results indicate that adult children report higher levels of depressive symptoms when they perceive that their mothers prefer them over other offspring in the family for both emotional closeness and confiding. These consequences are greater for daughters relative to sons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    J. Jill Suitor, Siyun Peng & Marissa Rurka

  2. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Megan Gilligan

Authors
  1. J. Jill Suitor
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  2. Megan Gilligan
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  3. Siyun Peng
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  4. Marissa Rurka
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Jill Suitor .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Criminology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Duane F. Alwin

  2. Department of Sociology and Criminology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Diane H. Felmlee

  3. Department of Sociology and Criminology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Derek A. Kreager

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Suitor, J.J., Gilligan, M., Peng, S., Rurka, M. (2018). How Much Can Be Expected of One Child? Consequences of Multiplexity of Mothers’ Support Preferences on Adult Children’s Psychological Well-Being. In: Alwin, D., Felmlee, D., Kreager, D. (eds) Social Networks and the Life Course. Frontiers in Sociology and Social Research, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71544-5_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71544-5_13

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71544-5

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