Aging improves parent, child relationships


Aging improves parent, child relationships
The majority of relationships between parents and their adult children improve as parents transition to old age, a Purdue University researcher has found. Karen Fingerman, an associate professor of developmental and family studies in the College of Consumer and Family Sciences, examined relationships adults 70 and older have with at least one of their adult offspring.

The parents in the study also suffered either vision or hearing loss or were seeking help with general health care from one of their children.

"Much has been written about relationships between adult children who are in a care-giving relationship with their older and dependent parents," Fingerman said. "This time when parents are transitioning to old age and still living without major assistance has not been looked at as closely."

Fingerman said the study, which was recently published in the journal Advances in Life Course Research, showed that a majority of parents and children mentioned positive changes in their relationship, even as parents experienced declines in health.

"Both parents and children reported significantly less ambivalence than we originally expected," Fingerman said. "Generally, there was a feeling on both sides that this was as good as the relationship had been, and both sides felt appreciated and nurtured."

The study was funded by a combination of grants from the Brookdale Foundation and the National Institute of Aging.

Fingerman said the research gives hope to parents and their adult children who are trying to adjust to the new demands parental aging can have on relationships.


(Published at Health News Track on November 30, 2007 - 402 days ago)

Aging article/news source:

Purdue University - read other health news articles from Purdue University and health news articles from USA.

Aging - search related terms:

Aging, Care, Family, Health, Health care, Hearing loss, Life, Old age, Relationship,

Aging - related articles/news stories:

- Blood sugar level linked to cognitive aging
- 12 new genes identified for managing cholesterol, glucose, melatonin, sleep
- New breast imaging BSGI effective in detection of breast cancers
- A universal mechanism of aging is identified
- Marijuana reduces memory impairment
- New MRI imaging may identify cervical cancer early
- Running slows the aging
- Red wine may ward off effects of age on heart, bones, eyes and muscles
- Elderly are more socially satisfied
- Conservation of genes may stop aging


»» Sleep disordered breathing affects obese children
«« Hazards of CT scans overstated in NEJM


Mission
Health Newstrack is dedicated to serve recent and updated health news & medical research, events/news, views/reviews to its subscribers and free access to general public, health & medical professionals, and other health seekers worldwide online with a user-friendly system.
Bookmark this page
Health News Track is tracking world's medical health news daily.
Search :

Add to Google
Current news
Most parents and children are fortunate to share several decades of the life course when both parties are healthy adults. When parents reach the transition to old age, however, they typically experience health declines, and both parties must adjust to changes in the relationship.
Aging
Definitions of aging differ between biologists and behavioral scientists. Biologists regard aging as reflecting the sum of multiple and typical biological decrements occurring after sexual maturation; behavioral scientists view it as reflecting regular and expected changes occurring in genetically representative organisms advancing through the life cycle under normal environmental conditions. In humans, aging is associated with degenerative changes in the skin, bones, heart, blood vessels, lungs, nerves, and other organs and tissues. The branch of medicine that deals with the disorders of aging in humans is geriatrics.

Aging articles
Add health news article to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Newsvine | Reddit | Fark | Yahoo | Technorati | RSS
The information provided on Health Newstrack is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her physician.
We comply with the HONcode principles for trustworthy health information, verify here.
www.healthnewstrack.com - About us, Editorial team, Advertising, Jobs, Links, Privacy policy, Disclaimer, Feedback,
Site map, List health news, Health news organizations, Health news world, Accessibility, Glossary, Testimonials, Blog
Mobile/PDA Submit press release
© 2007-2008 HealthNewstrack.com
Track Health News Daily
4.8