Parental marital disruption and intergenerational transfers: An analysis of lone elderly parents and their children

Although one of the most marked demographic trends observed over the twenti eth century is the increased rate of divorce, relatively little research ha s explored the effects of these changing marital patterns in the context of an aging society. Using a sample of lone elderly parents and their adult c hildren, we analyze the direct and indirect effects of marital disruption o n four important dimensions of intergenerational transfers: coresidence, fi nancial assistance, adult children's provision of informal care, and parent al purchase of paid care. Our findings suggest that divorce has deleterious effects on intergenerational transfers, particularly for elderly fathers. Remarriage further reduces exchange. Our results reveal that parents engage in lower levels of transfers with stepchildren relative to biological chil dren. Moreover, intergenerational transfers are sensitive to characteristic s of biological children but not to those of stepchildren. Taken together t hese results suggest that exchange at the end of the life course continues to be adversely affected by marital disruption.