The Middle-Class Adult and His Widowed or Still-Married Mother

In this paper the relations of a sample of middle-class adults and their widowed mothers are compared with relations between an age-matched sample and their mothers when their fathers are still living. Balance appears crucial to satisfactory relations with the widowed mother; and this tends to be achieved between daughters and their mothers. Young adult males, however, find their relations with a widowed mother characterized primarily by keeping in touch with her and by one-way aid. Such obligation and imbalance result in less enjoyment of and affection for the mother on the part of the male when the father is no longer alive. Other aspects of young adult-aging parent relations are incorporated into the discussion.