The Role of Disruption Pathway, Subsequent Remarriage, and Duration Remarried or Unmarried on Parent-Child Contact

Anna Hammersmith , Grand Valley State University

A growing share of older people experience divorce or widowhood at mid or later life and then remarry. Moreover, although widowhood is still commonplace, divorce to people over 50 is on the rise. Nonetheless, few researchers have examined how different disruption pathways, subsequent remarriage, and duration remarried or unmarried relates to parent-child contact. Using the 1992-2012 Health and Retirement Study, I investigate how disruption pathways, subsequent remarriage, and duration remarried or unmarried are linked to parent-child contact. Respondents multiple disruptions reported less contact relative to the divorced or widowed. Remarriage related to more parent-child contact for divorced men, however, remarriage tied to less contact among women after widowhood or multiple disruptions. Even though men with multiple disruptions had less contact than widowers, years remarried yield more contact for men with multiple disruptions. Women who remarry after widowhood reported more contact than the unmarried, but years remarried linked to greater contact.

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 Presented in Session 245. Interpersonal Relationships in Families