This study considered the role of adult children in the core networks of U.S. older adults with varying levels of functional health. Taking a multidimensional perspective of the ego network system, we considered (a) presence of child(ren) in the network, (b) contact with children network members, and (c) embeddedness of children within the network. We observed older parents from three waves of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP). The common ‘important matters’ name generator was used to construct egocentric network variables, while self-reported difficulty with activities of daily life was used to measure disablement transitions. Parameters were estimated with Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). Though child turnover was common in parents’ core networks, there was no evidence linking disablement transitions to systematic forms of child reshuffling. Children that remained in parents’ networks, however, showed increased contact with parents and with other members of the network when the parent underwent disability progression. Disability onset was not significantly linked to either outcome. There was limited evidence of gender variation in these patterns. Overall, results strengthen the view that children are distinctive members of older adults’ core networks. Further, the role of adult children shifts most noticeably at advanced stages of the disablement process.

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功能性残疾和儿童在美国老年人核心讨论网络中的作用

这项研究考虑了成年儿童在美国老年人核心网络中的作用，这些老年人的功能健康水平不同。从自我网络系统的多维视角来看，我们考虑了（a）网络中儿童的存在，（b）与儿童网络成员的联系，以及（c）儿童在网络中的嵌入性。我们从国家社会生活、健康和老龄化项目 (NSHAP) 的三个浪潮中观察了年长的父母。常见的“重要事项”名称生成器被用来构建以自我为中心的网络变量，而自我报告的日常生活活动困难被用来衡量残疾转变。使用广义估计方程 (GEE) 估计参数。虽然孩子更替在父母的核心网络中很常见，没有证据表明残疾过渡与系统形式的儿童改组有关。然而，当父母经历残疾进展时，留在父母网络中的孩子与父母和网络其他成员的联系增加了。残疾发作与任一结局均无显着关联。这些模式中性别差异的证据有限。总体而言，结果强化了这样一种观点，即儿童是老年人核心网络的独特成员。此外，成年儿童的角色在残疾过程的晚期阶段发生的变化最为明显。残疾发作与任一结局均无显着关联。这些模式中性别差异的证据有限。总体而言，结果强化了这样一种观点，即儿童是老年人核心网络的独特成员。此外，成年儿童的角色在残疾过程的晚期阶段发生的变化最为明显。残疾发作与任一结局均无显着关联。这些模式中性别差异的证据有限。总体而言，结果强化了这样一种观点，即儿童是老年人核心网络的独特成员。此外，成年儿童的角色在残疾过程的晚期阶段发生的变化最为明显。