Strong Support but Uneasy Relationships: Coresidence and Adult Children's Relationships with Their Parents

Using data on a sample of 435 young adults who were interviewed in 1992 and their parents who were interviewed in 1988, we examine the effects of coresidence on multiple dimensions of parent-child solidarity. Results show that coresident young adults give, receive, and perceive more support from their parents than nonresident children, but that they report significantly, albeit modestly, lower affective relationships with their parents. The effects of coresidence are more positive when children are more adult and responsible (older, employed, in school). Coresidence and proximity are strongly related to parent-child solidarity, but parents' reports of the quality of prior family relationships have surprisingly little effect on the likelihood of coresidence or on children's reports of current relationships.