The spatial dynamics of health and intergenerational ties in later life

Population ageing highlights the role of adult children in older parents’ health, wellbeing, and survival. Parents’ ties to their adult children are structured across space: changes in the life course, including parents’ declining health, may influence where and how far they and their children live. At the same time, their geographic proximity has important implications for the availability of informal care and, ultimately, for parents’ overall health. This thesis investigates the relationship between parental health and geographic proximity to adult children in later life. I apply event history and decomposition analyses to longitudinal survey data from Europe and administrative data from Finland, a country where rapid population ageing challenges the sustainability of care systems. This thesis shows, first, that health declines are associated with the residential transitions of parents and non-parents alike in Europe. Second, focusing on Finland, this work demonstrates that older parents and adult children are increasingly living farther apart in the twenty-first century, a trend driven largely by shifts in population composition. Third, Finnish parents’ declining health is associated with proximity-enhancing moves toward adult children, particularly for parents without a spouse. Fourth, close proximity is positively associated with longevity, but only for spouseless parents. Taken together, this thesis finds that geographic proximity enables children to support their parents’ healthy ageing and survival. The thesis concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications of these findings in the context of broader social and demographic change across Europe and other ageing societies.