Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
The purpose of this study was to assess adult children's obligations to assist older divorced parents and stepparents. Attitudes of 1,009 randomly selected participants were elicited using a vignette that portrayed a situation adult (step)children experience in post-divorce families. Findings suggest that, (a) adult children are obligated to help their divorced parents, (b) kinship is not a sufficient reason for most people to attribute obligations to adult children, although familial obligation is the most frequently offered rationale for helping divorced parents, (c) adult stepchildren are perceived to be responsible to help their stepparents, (d) there is consensus regarding the type of help that should and should not be given by (step)children to (step)parents, (e) adult (step) children are not perceived to be obligated to provide physicalcaregiving for (step)parents, (f) relationship quality is an important criterion for attributing responsibilities to stepchildren, and (g) older adults differ from younger adults in their beliefs about intergenerational obligations.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Coleman et al. (2005) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: