The Role of Perceived Religious Similarity in the Quality of Mother-child Relations in Later Life: Differences Within Families and Between Races

Abstract

Despite evidence of the importance of value similarity in predicting parent-adult child relations, little attention has been given to the unique role of religious similarity. Using 1,407 dyads nested within 390 families, we examine whether religious similarity predicts the quality of mother-child relations in later life, and whether the strength of this association differs by race. Consistent with our hypotheses, religious similarity was found to be an important factor in predicting both closeness and conflict, particularly in Black families. These findings suggest that it may be important to give greater attention to religion when studying patterns of interaction and support in the later years, especially among Black families.The role of similarity in has long been emphasized in scholarship on interpersonal relations. Specifically, it has been argued that structural and value similarities are important in maintaining strong relationships both within and outside of the family (Feld 1982; Heider 1959;Homans 1950;Lazarsfeld and Merton 1954; Suitor and Keeton 1997; Suitor et al. 1995b; Wellman and Wortly 1990). Religious similarity, which intersects structure and values, has been shown to be an especially salient characteristic in explaining relationship quality (Lichter and Carmalt 2009;Louch 2000;Vaaler, Ellison, and Powers 2009), including between parents and offspring in childhood and young adulthood (Pearce and Axinn 1998; Stokes and Regnerus 2009). However, little attention has been directed toward examining the role of religious similarity in relations between middle-aged adult children and older parents. In the present paper we address this issue, using data on 1407 motherchild dyads nested within 390 families from the Within-Family Differences Study (Suitor and Pillemer, 2001). We focus on two specific research questions: 1) Does similarity of religious values predict the quality of mother-child relationships in later life; and 2) do race differences in the salience of religiosity moderate the relationship between religious value similarity and the quality of mother-child relations?* Please direct all correspondence to Jori Sechrist, Purdue University, Department of Sociology, 700 W. State St., Stone Hall, West Lafayette, IN 417907, 765.494.8770, sechristj@purdue.edu. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptRes Aging. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 January 1. Published in final edited form as:Res Aging. 2011 January 1; 33(1): 3-27. doi:10.1177/0164027510384711. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript Similarity and Parent-Child RelationsThe importance of similarity in interpersonal relations has been highlighted in both classic and contemporary scholarship. Heider (1959), Homans (1950), andMerton (1968) argued that similarity played a central role in establishing and maintaining cohesion in both dyads and larger groups. For more than five decades empirical research has demonstrated that individuals are more likely to develop and maintain strong relatio...

Estrangement Between Mothers and Adult Children: The Role of Norms and Values

“…Gilligan, 1982;Rossi & Rossi, 1990). Consistent with this argument, the literature has shown that similarity is a strong predictor of mothers' relationships with their adult children (Rossi & Rossi, 1990;Sechrist, Suitor, Vargas, & Pillemer, 2011;Suitor, Gilligan, & Pillemer, 2013a). Furthermore, panel studies have revealed that perceived value similarity between mothers and adult children at one point predicts greater closeness at later points (Suitor et al, 2013a).…”

The Intergenerational Relationships of Gay Men and Lesbian Women

“…Limitations should be considered. Analyses rely on the perspectives of adult children; a more comprehensive study would include accounts from both parents and adult children as adult children's descriptions may be reflective of, or perhaps diverge from, the perceptions of parents Gilligan, Suitor, Kim, & Pillemer, 2013;Reczek, 2014;Sechrist et al, 2011). Multiple accounts may be particularly important when attempting to understand the consequences of these intergenerational exchanges on both generations.…”

“…The analytical sample was restricted to individuals aged 40 and older to situate the analysis in theory and research on midlife to later life adults (Birditt et al, 2010;Moen & Wethington, 1999). Both members of a couple were interviewed separately in order to obtain independent accounts (Sechrist, Suitor, Vargas, & Pillemer, 2011). In four sample couples, one individual was younger than 40 years and one individual older than 40 years; the individual older than 40 years remained in the analytical sample, whereas the individual younger than 40 years was removed in order to adhere to the age restriction of the study; partners younger than 40 years who were not analyzed are listed with a superscript letter "a" in Table 1.…”

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“…Behavior is typically represented as attendance at religious services, belonging to an affiliation, and belief as subscribing to religious doctrine and sometimes religious salience (Hwang et al, 2018). The degree of emotional intimacy between parents and adult children is positively predicted by cross-generational similarities in religious values (Sechrist, Suitor, Vargas, & Pillemer, 2011), religious attendance (Pearce & Axinn, 1998), and religious affiliation (Hwang et al, 2018). Other aspects of parent-child relationships are also sensitive to religious concordance between generations.…”