Distance matters: how adult children’s unemployment affects parents’ health

Within the ERC-funded project “The Effects of Unemployment on the Health of Family Members” (HEALFAM), an article was recently published where researchers investigate how adult children’s unemployment affects depressive symptoms in parents. The article, published in the prestigious journal Demography, shows that the impact of adult children’s unemployment on parents’ mental health varies across families and is partly shaped by the geographical distance between parents and children.

Studies in this field are important for several reasons. A rapidly ageing population and increasing life expectancy extend the time parents and children share, meaning that older people are increasingly affected not only by their own experiences but also by those of their children

Unexpected findings for fathers
The results reveal that adult children’s unemployment can have significant negative consequences for parents’ mental health – particularly for mothers – when they live together with their children. This is in line with earlier research suggesting that intergenerational cohabitation itself may be a risk factor to parents’ psychological well-being.

“Our interpretation is that these patterns can partly be explained by traditional gender roles. Mothers often assume greater emotional and practical responsibility when an unemployed child lives at home, which can increase stress and contribute to depressive symptoms,” explains Professor Anna Baranowska Rataj, one of the study’s authors.

For fathers, however, the findings were more surprising: they appear to be more negatively affected when their adult children live close enough for regular contact, but not close enough to provide direct practical support.

“This did not match our expectations. We assumed that parents living farther away from their children would be less exposed to the emotional strains associated with unemployment,” says Erika Sandow.

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Next steps in the research
The team has recently recived funding from the Spanish Research Council for a new project that will examine how children’s working lives more broadly influence parents’ well-being across different welfare state contexts. A particular focus will be on how social policies can mitigate the effects of adult children’s negative labor market experiences.

The findings published in Demography provide important clues for future policy-relevant  research. Since cohabitation appears to intensify the negative effects of unemployment on parents’ mental health, housing policies that promote young people’s residential independence may be especially relevant.

Looking at both directions
“Studies in this field are important for several reasons. A rapidly ageing population and increasing life expectancy extend the time parents and children share, meaning that older people are increasingly affected not only by their own experiences but also by those of their children,” says Jordi Guma Lao.

Previous research has mainly focused on how resources, advantages, and disadvantages are transmitted from parents to children. Today, we know that parental stress shapes children’s chances of living happy and healthy lives.

“I find it particularly interesting to explore these relationships in both directions. Our study shows that life-course transitions experienced by adult children are transmitted to their parents and affect their health. It is therefore crucial to better understand the mechanisms behind this transmissions in both directions,” adds Anna Baranowska-Rataj.