Impact of Family Structure on Parental Attitudes Toward the Economic Support of Adult Children Over the Transition to Adulthood

Abstract

This research explored the influence of family structure on midlife parents’ attitudes toward the economic support of adult children and measured change in those attitudes as their oldest child moved from adolescence to young adulthood. Results suggest that family structure has long-term effects on parents’ attitudes toward financial obligations to children. Compared to intact families, both stepparents and remarried (biological) parents were less likely to agree that parents should provide economic support as children make the transition to adulthood. Among stepfamilies, perceived financial obligations were stronger when parents had had a child together in addition to children from prior relationships. Single parents reported less positive attitudes toward economic support than two-biological-parent families when their oldest child was an adolescent, but their attitudes became more positive over time.