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When Parents Matter to Their Adult Children: Filial Reliance Associated With Parents' Depressive Symptoms

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, White Plains, New York.
² Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Address correspondence to Amy L. Byers, Weill–Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, Payne Whitney Westchester, 21 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains, NY 10605. E-mail: alb2018{at}med.cornell.edu

A neglected topic in aging depression research is the potential role of the parent–adult child relationship. In this study we examined whether adult children's reports of having relied upon parents for instrumental and expressive support are associated with parents' depressive symptoms. The sample included 304 parents (aged 50–72 years), matched to a randomly selected adult offspring, from the University of Southern California Longitudinal Study of Generations. We measured parents' depressive symptoms by using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale at baseline and 3 and 6 years later. The final longitudinal analysis showed that, when we adjusted for relevant variables including age, gender, income, self-rated health, and child's depressive symptoms, the adult child's reliance on instrumental support was associated with fewer parental depressive symptoms (p =.036). Expressive support did not show the same pattern. Thus, adult children's reliance on instrumental support might contribute to their parents' mental health.

Key Words: Depression • Mental Health • Social support • Intergenerational • Parent–adult child relationship