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Older Parent–Child Relationships in Six Developed Nations: Comparisons at the Intersection of Affection and Conflict
Author(s) -
Silverstein Merril,
Gans Daphna,
Lowenstein Ariela,
Giarrusso Roseann,
Bengtson Vern L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00745.x
Subject(s) - affection , ambivalence , solidarity , demographics , latent class model , psychology , social psychology , developmental psychology , demography , sociology , geography , political science , politics , law , statistics , mathematics
Intergenerational solidarity and ambivalence paradigms suggest that emotional relationships between generations consist of both positive and negative sentiments. We applied latent class analysis to measures of affection and conflict in 2,698 older parent–child relationships in 6 developed nations: England, Germany, Israel, Norway, Spain, and the United States (Southern California). The best fitting model consisted of 4 latent classes distributed differently across nations but with a cross‐nationally invariant measurement structure. After controlling for demographics, health, coresidence, contact, and support, the following classes were overrepresented in corresponding nations: amicable (England), detached (Germany and Spain), disharmonious (United States), ambivalent (Israel). We discuss policy and cultural differences across societies that may explain why the prevalence of particular emotional types varied by nation.