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Kincaid R, Rurka M, Suitor JJ, et al. Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021;doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbab075.
Kincaid, R., Rurka, M., Suitor, J. J., Gillian, M., Pillemer, K., Mohebbi, L., Mundell, N., & Solomon, B. S. (2021). Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, . https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab075
Kincaid, Reilly, et al. "Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children." The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences vol. (2021). doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab075
Kincaid R, Rurka M, Suitor JJ, Gillian M, Pillemer K, Mohebbi L, Mundell N, Solomon BS. Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021 Apr 29; doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbab075. Epub 2021 Apr 29. PMID: 33912909.
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J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021 Apr 29; doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbab075. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Prodigal Children: Why Older Mothers Favor Their Once-Deviant Adult Children.

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences

Reilly Kincaid, Marissa Rurka, J Jill Suitor, Megan Gillian, Karl Pillemer, Liam Mohebbi, Nicholas Mundell, Solomon

Affiliations

  1. Purdue University.
  2. Iowa State University.
  3. Cornell University.
  4. John Marshall Law School.
  5. Ball State University.

PMID: 33912909 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbab075

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Past research suggests that adult children who reform their deviant behaviors (i.e., problems with drugs/alcohol or the law) are more likely to become favored by their mothers, yet the reasons underlying this phenomenon are unclear. This study employs a longitudinal, qualitative approach to explore why adult children's behavioral reforms shape changes in maternal favoritism.

METHODS: Analyses are based on qualitative interview data collected at two points seven years apart from older mothers regarding their adult children in 20 families. Each of these families had a "prodigal child"-a child for whom desistance from deviant behaviors between the two waves was accompanied by newfound maternal favoritism.

RESULTS: Findings revealed two conditions under which mothers came to favor reformed deviants over their siblings. First, this occurred when adult children's behavioral reformations were accompanied by mothers' perceptions of these children as having grown more family-oriented. Second, this occurred when mothers came to see reformed deviants as exhibiting a stronger need and appreciation for maternal support, relative to their siblings.

DISCUSSION: Mothers' perceptions of children's behavioral reformations as being accompanied by greater dedication to family or reflecting a need for their mothers' support offer two explanations for why previously deviant adult children may become mothers' favored offspring. These findings contribute to a growing body of scholarship on the complexity of intergenerational relations by shedding new light on changing patterns of favoritism in families with a history of parental disappointment, conflict, and strain.

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].

Keywords: family sociology; intergenerational relations; qualitative methods; within-family differences

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