Adult children’s union type and contact with mothers : A replication

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14230%2F23%3A00134115" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14230/23:00134115 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol48/23/" target="_blank" >https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol48/23/</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2023.48.23" target="_blank" >10.4054/DemRes.2023.48.23</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Adult children’s union type and contact with mothers : A replication

Original language description

Background: Several studies show that cohabiting adult children have less frequent contact with their mothers than married adult children. We argue that these findings might be spurious due to confounding. Objective: Our aim is to replicate earlier research using more robust statistical instruments from the family of multi-level models with fixed effects, which are known to offer better control of omitted-variable bias. We also want to show the extent to which union-type effects vary across countries and by parenthood status. Methods: We use data from the SHARE survey. Mothers are the primary respondents and report on contact with all their children as well as on their children’s union type. We apply mother-level fixed effects (i.e., within-mother comparisons) to see if the frequency of contact depends on the child’s union type (distinguishing marriage and unmarried cohabitation). Results: We find no overall association between the adult child’s union status and the frequency of intergenerational contact with the mother. While there are some differences across countries in this effect, these are uncorrelated with the prevalence of unmarried cohabitation, any typology of family systems, or the prevailing type of unmarried cohabitation. Conclusions: We failed to replicate previously reported associations between children’s union type and frequency of intergenerational contact. We conclude that the earlier findings are spurious and cannot be interpreted causally. Contribution: Unmarried cohabitations should not be seen as ‘incomplete institutions.’ Cohabitors are not excluded from family networks and intergenerational exchanges on the basis of their union status.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

50401 - Sociology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA23-07378S" target="_blank" >GA23-07378S: The changing educational structure and new partnership dynamics: Highly educated women after the reversal of the gender gap in education</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Demographic Research

ISSN

1435-9871

e-ISSN

1435-9871

Volume of the periodical

48

Issue of the periodical within the volume

May

Country of publishing house

DE - GERMANY

Number of pages

40

Pages from-to

641-680

UT code for WoS article

000987564200001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85162944702