Filial Responsibility Filial Responsibility Expectations Among Adult Child- Older Parent Pairs

As the American population continues to age, more and more adult children and their elderly parents are examining their beliefs about what constitutes appropriate filial behavior. This study was conducted to investigate filial responsibility expectations endorsed by a randomly selected sample of 144 elder parent-adult child pairs from the Harrisburg area of Pennsylvania. Descriptive statistics suggest that most older parents and adult children interpreted the filial role to include a great deal of emotional support and discussion of important matters and available resources. Both generations perceived living close and writing letters to parents on a weekly basis as less important. Parents were more likely to disapprove of receiving financial assistance from children, living with chi.aren, and having children adjust their work schedules to help them than were their offspring. Robinson's statistical measure of agreement, which examined the amount of consensus between generations, revealed that there was a moderate level of agreement between parents and their children on filial responsibility expectations. Multiple regression analyses indicated that amount of agreement on filial norms did not have an impact on parental well-being. (Author/NB) *********************g************************************************* * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document