Article Geographic Proximity of Adult Children and the Well-Being of Older

This article aims to contribute to the discussion of how adult children affect the well-being of their older parents by investigating the importance of living in close geographic proximity. We investigate whether having children at all, and/or having them geographically proximate, contributes differently to the well-being of older persons living with and without a partner. We enriched survey data for the Netherlands (N 8,379) with municipal register data and regressed life satisfaction of persons aged 65þ on having children and three different measures of geographic proximity. Having children contributes to the well-being of older men with a partner. There is evidence for a positive association between proximity of children and parental well-being, in partic-ular for widowed and separated mothers and for separated fathers. Our find-ings suggest that close proximity may be a condition under which adul