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

Reilly Kincaid, Marissa Rurka, J Jill Suitor, Megan Gilligan, Karl Pillemer, Liam Mohebbi and Nicholas Mundell

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2022, vol. 77, issue 7, 1325-1335

Abstract: ObjectivesPast 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.MethodAnalyses are based on qualitative interview data collected at 2 points 7 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 2 waves was accompanied by newfound maternal favoritism.ResultsFindings revealed 2 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.DiscussionMothers’ perceptions of children’s behavioral reformations as being accompanied by greater dedication to family or reflecting a need for their mothers’ support offer 2 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.

Keywords: Family sociology; Intergenerational relations; Qualitative methods; Within-family differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is currently edited by Psychological Sciences - S. Duke Han, PhD and Social Sciences - Jessica A Kelley, PhD, FGSA

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