Intergenerational proximity, residential relocations and the well-being of older people

Intergenerational proximity is a strong predictor of the exchange of care and support within families. This PhD dissertation examines the contribution of intergenerational geographic proximity to well-being and to the moving behavior of older people living in the Netherlands by using a combination of register and survey data. A substantial part of the older population has an adult child living within daily reach. Older parents living in areas in which more conservative and collectivist attitudes prevail are more likely to have their adult children living close than those living in other areas. The findings confirm that at older age a partner is a more important resource for well-being than adult children, but also indicate that in certain situations proximate adult children have a meaningful role in the well-being and relocations of older people. Intergenerational proximity seems to add to the well-being of widowed and separated mothers and separated fathers and older people are less likely to change residence when they have co-residing children or children living in the same neighbourhood, and more likely to relocate elsewhere when children live at greater distance. The findings also indicate that in the absence of a partner a relocation to a residential care facility is more likely when an adult child is co-residing. The results of exploring different measures of health show that the measure ‘limitations in activities of daily living’ captures differences in effects between older people’s relocations to care institutions and relocations elsewhere better than the measures ‘self-rated health’ and ‘chronic conditions’