Universität zu Köln

Jessee, Lisa ORCID: 0000-0002-1906-1925, Carr, Deborah ORCID: 0000-0002-8175-5303 and Kelley, Jessica A (2025). Parent–Child Disconnectedness and Older European Adults’ Mental Health: Do Patterns Differ by Marital Status and Gender? The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 80 (6). pp. 1-11. Oxford University Press. ISSN 1079-5014

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Abstract

[Artikel-Nr. gbaf024] Objectives: Disconnectedness from one’s adult child(ren) can undermine older adults’ well-being. However, the psychological consequences of disconnectedness may differ across marital contexts and by gender. Drawing on stress and normative violation frameworks, we examine the association between parent–child disconnectedness and European older adults’ depressive symptoms, and the extent to which these patterns differ by marital status (married, remarried, cohabiting, divorced, widowed, and never married) and gender. Methods: We used pooled data from 8 waves (2004–2022) of the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, n = 216,469) and multivariable pooled ordinary least squares regression to evaluate whether marital status and gender moderate the association between disconnectedness and depressive symptoms. Analyses were adjusted for socioeconomic, health, survey year, and contextual covariates. Results: Disconnectedness rates range from 1% among older adults in their first marriages to 13%–14% among divorced and remarried men and 17% among never-married men. Men have consistently higher rates of disconnectedness than women. Parent–child disconnectedness is associated with heightened depressive symptoms in many marital and gender categories. However, moderation analyses show the strongest associations in marital contexts in which disconnectedness is rare (first marriage, especially among women). Disconnectedness also is associated with heightened depressive symptoms among widowed and divorced persons, yet has negligible effects among remarried persons. Discussion: We discuss the implications of disconnectedness for older adults’ socioemotional and caregiving needs. We encourage interventions that focus on engaging older adults’ supportive familial or nonfamilial ties rather than reestablishing potentially distressing ties with a disconnected child.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Jessee, Lisa UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1906-1925 UNSPECIFIED Carr, Deborah UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8175-5303 UNSPECIFIED Kelley, Jessica A UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-797576
Identification Number:	10.1093/geronb/gbaf024
Journal or Publication Title:	The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Volume:	80
Number:	6
Page Range:	pp. 1-11
Date:	8 May 2025
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	1079-5014
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Weitere Institute, Arbeits- und Forschungsgruppen > Institute of Sociology and Social Psychology (ISS)
Subjects:	Psychology Social sciences
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/79757