Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children

Author:

Kincaid Reilly1ORCID,Rurka Marissa2,Suitor J Jill2ORCID,Gilligan Megan3,Pillemer Karl4,Mohebbi Liam5,Mundell Nicholas6

Affiliation:

1. Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

2. Department of Sociology and Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

3. Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames, USA

4. Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

5. John Marshall Law School, Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA

6. Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Past research suggests that adult children who reform their deviant behaviors (i.e., problems with drugs/alcohol or the law) are more likely to become favored by their mothers, yet the reasons underlying this phenomenon are unclear. This study employs a longitudinal, qualitative approach to explore why adult children’s behavioral reforms shape changes in maternal favoritism. Method Analyses are based on qualitative interview data collected at 2 points 7 years apart from older mothers regarding their adult children in 20 families. Each of these families had a “prodigal child”—a child for whom desistance from deviant behaviors between the 2 waves was accompanied by newfound maternal favoritism. Results Findings revealed 2 conditions under which mothers came to favor reformed deviants over their siblings. First, this occurred when adult children’s behavioral reformations were accompanied by mothers’ perceptions of these children as having grown more family-oriented. Second, this occurred when mothers came to see reformed deviants as exhibiting a stronger need and appreciation for maternal support, relative to their siblings. Discussion Mothers’ perceptions of children’s behavioral reformations as being accompanied by greater dedication to family or reflecting a need for their mothers’ support offer 2 explanations for why previously deviant adult children may become mothers’ favored offspring. These findings contribute to a growing body of scholarship on the complexity of intergenerational relations by shedding new light on changing patterns of favoritism in families with a history of parental disappointment, conflict, and strain.

Funder

National Institute on Aging

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Geriatrics and Gerontology,Gerontology,Clinical Psychology,Social Psychology

Reference52 articles.

1. Perceptions of giving support and depressive symptoms in late life;Bangerter;The Gerontologist,2015

2. Life problems and perceptions of giving support: Implications for aging mothers and middle-aged children;Bangerter;Journal of Family Issues,2018

3. Beyond the nuclear family: The increasing importance of multigenerational bonds: The Burgess Award Lecture;Bengtson;Journal of Marriage and Family,2001

4. The life course perspective applied to families over time;Bengtson,1993

5. The generation gap and aging family members: Toward a conceptual model;Bengtson,1976

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