Independent Living
Independent Living: Do Older Parents and Adult Children See It The Same Way?
Research Report
Linda L. Barrett, Ph.D., AARP Knowledge Management
November 1998
Executive Summary
In March and April, 1998, ICR Research, Inc. conducted telephone interviews with 896 adults 65 years of age and older who had at least one adult child age 35 or older.1 The purposes of the survey were to assess: how older parents define independent living, the extent to which the generations have communicated about living independently, and the types of assistance received or needed.2
The findings from this study present a picture of healthy older parents who are able to take care of themselves. Most (70%) do not receive services to enable them to be independent, and most (67%) do not think they need services at the present time. They are generally less concerned than adult children about their own (older parent's) ability to live independently.
Although most older parents (67%) have not talked with their adult children about independent living issues, they think that doing so will be easy (24%) or very easy (56%). When they do talk with their adult children about their ability to live independently, they are motivated by a desire to plan for the future (68%).
One in three older parents (34%) say they would consider asking their adult children for information about living independently. More than half the adult children (52%) surveyed in an earlier study indicated they have considered giving parents information about independent living issues. However, one in three adult children (36%) say they don't know what type of information their parents need and may not know where to turn for information.
Furthermore, when older parents and adult children say the older parent experienced a problem during the past five years that affected his or her ability to live independently, the generations disagreed about the amount and type of help adult children provided older parents. Older parents are more than twice as likely as the younger generation to say their adult child(ren) did not provide them with any help when they had a problem (36% vs. 16%). Adult children, on the other hand, are more likely than older parents to identify specific types of help they provided such as being there, housekeeping, or money. Although we do not know why older parents and adult children have different perceptions about the amount and type of intergenerational sharing that took place, this could be an indication that communication between the generations is not clear, or as easy to achieve as it is to anticipate.
We recommend that the desire to plan could be used by adult children and older parents to initiate conversations and strengthen the relationship between generations. Ideally, such conversations should occur before a major illness or crisis when it is less difficult to talk. Planners and program managers can help adult children become aware of the important role they play in helping to meet their parents' information needs. They can also encourage older parents to share their perceived needs with adult children.
Top of PageKey Findings
- Adult children and older parents agree about how older parents define independent living. Almost half of the time definitions focus on being able to take care of oneself.
- Adult children and older parents agree about the extent to which the generations have communicated with each other about independent living. About three in ten of each group have had conversations about independent living (see illustration on next page).
- Adult children and older parents disagree about the types of assistance adult children provided the older parent when he/she had a problem in the past five years. Older parents are more than twice as likely as the younger generation to say their adult child(ren) did not provide them with any help when they had a problem. Adult children are more likely than older parents to identify specific types of help they provided such as being there, housekeeping, or money.
- Older parents (70%) are more likely than adult children (41%) to say they (older parent) do not currently receive help from any source to live independently. Older parents (67%) are also more likely than adult children (51%) to say they (older parent) do not currently need help to live independently.
- Adult children (52%) are more likely to consider giving older parents information than older parents (34%) are to consider asking adult children for information.
- Older parents' health history is associated with their (older parents) level of concern about their ability to live independently. Among older parents who experienced health problems in the past five years which affected their ability to live independently, 58% are somewhat or very concerned about their ability to live independently and 39% are not at all or not very concerned.
- Older parents' health history is associated with their (older parents) perceived difficulty talking with their adult children about their own ability to live independently. Among older parents who say it is easy or very easy to talk with their adult children about their ability to live independently 84% have not experienced a problem in the past five years which affected their ability to live independently and 16% say they did experience a problem which affected their ability to live independently in the past five years.
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to acknowledge Drs. Gretchen Straw and Linda Fisher for their reviews and suggestions for improving this report. She also wishes to thank Ms. Sonya Gross and Adrienne Perry who provided technical assistance.
Footnotes
1 These interviews were
conducted as part of an Excel Omnibus Survey.
2 In 1997 we presented the
results of a survey of adult children about the meaning
independent living has for their parents in a report entitled,
"Independent Living: Adult
Childrens' Perceptions of Their Parents' Needs."
This is a companion study designed to examine the same issues
from the older parents' perspective. These samples were not
composed of matched pairs of adult children and their older
parent.
Written by Linda L. Barrett, Ph.D., Connections for Independent
Living Research Team, AARP Research Group
November 1998
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