Objectives Divorce is now widespread in later life, yet little is known about how older adults and their adult children respond in the aftermath of gray divorce. Guided by the life course perspective, this study examines the consequences of gray divorce and subsequent repartnering for parent–adult child relationships from the parent’s perspective. Methods Using longitudinal data from the 1998–2014 Health and Retirement Study in the United States, we estimated growth curve models to compare fathers’ and mothers’ frequent contact with and financial support to their adult children prior to, during, and following gray divorce. Results Gray divorce and repartnering had disparate effects on father– versus mother–adult child relationships. Following a divorce, fathers’ frequent contact with their adult children decreased but financial support to their adult children increased. Fathers’ repartnering had an enduring negative effect on frequent contact with their children. Gray divorce did not alter mothers’ financial support to adult children and it actually increased interaction between mothers and adult children as the odds of frequent contact doubled upon divorce. Repartnering had no appreciable effects on mothers’ relationships with their adult children. Discussion The results of our study are consistent with prior research showing that divorce creates a matrifocal tilt in our kinship system. The shifting dynamics of parent–adult child relationships in response to gray divorce and repartnering raise questions about whether gray-divorced parents will be able to rely on their adult children for care as they age.

中文翻译：

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灰色离婚的作用和随后的亲子关系重新合作

目标 离婚现在在以后的生活中很普遍，但对于老年人及其成年子女在灰色离婚后的反应知之甚少。本研究以生命历程的视角为指导，从父母的角度考察了灰色离婚和随后重新合作对父母与成年子女关系的影响。方法 使用美国 1998-2014 年健康和退休研究的纵向数据，我们估计了增长曲线模型，以比较父亲和母亲在灰色离婚之前、期间和之后与成年子女的频繁接触和经济支持。结果 灰色离婚和重新合作对父亲与母亲与成年子女的关系产生了不同的影响。离婚后，父亲与成年子女的频繁接触减少了，但对成年子女的经济支持却增加了。父亲的重新合作对与孩子的频繁接触产生了持久的负面影响。灰色离婚并没有改变母亲对成年子女的经济支持，它实际上增加了母亲和成年子女之间的互动，因为离婚后频繁接触的几率增加了一倍。重新合作对母亲与成年子女的关系没有明显影响。讨论 我们的研究结果与先前的研究结果一致，即离婚会在我们的亲属关系系统中造成母系倾斜。