PARENTING IN LATER LIFE - ADAPTIVE ILLUSION IN ELDERLY MOTHERS OF ONECHILD

This article explores (1) the relationship between elderly mothers of one child and their son or daughter and (2) the impact of that relatio nship on mothers' current and future well-being. Data from ethnographi c interviews of twenty mothers of one, and twenty mothers of four or m ore children were compared for thematic content. Mothers of only child ren were found to be child-focused to the exclusion of other life-enri ching activities, and singularly dependent on their son or daughter fo r self-validation. Significant in the interview material of single-chi lded mothers was the use of illusion as a tool for defusing disappoint ment in, or fabricating closeness to the child.