ATTITUDES REGARDING OBLIGATIONS TO ASSIST AN OLDER PARENT OR STEPPARENT FOLLOWING LATER-LIFE REMARRIAGE

This study examines attitudes about obligations to assist an older par ent or stepparent following Inter-life remarriage. The sample consiste d of 189 men and 320 women who responded to vignettes portraying a Int er-life remarriage in which a family member needed assistance. Obligat ions were perceived to be greater to parents than to stepparents. Rela tionship closeness was an important consideration when making judgment s about obligations to stepparents but not to parents. Men and women w ere equally obligated to their elders, and obligations to help stepmot hers differed from obligations to help stepfathers and biological pare nts. We concluded that there is consensus that members of the younger generation have obligations to their elders, but there is not consensu s about what tasks they should perform.;The task receiving the least s upport was physical caregiving.