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The Long Arm of Warm Parenting: A Sex-Matching Perspective on Adult Children's Physical Health

Journal of Family Issues

Published online on

Abstract

Does adulthood physical health continue to reflect parental support and warmth received during childhood? Although previous research supports this continuity, I examine this question according to a sex-matching perspective. Drawing on representative cross-sectional data featuring detailed measures of maternal and paternal warmth (1995 National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States), I focus on adults who came of age in traditional two-parent households containing a biological mother and father. Across three physical health outcomes, I find strong support for sex-matching, in that paternal warmth during childhood is usually more important to male adulthood health whereas maternal warmth tends to be more important to female adulthood health. Sex-matching effects are especially evident for physical health difficulties (number of chronic health conditions and functional limitations). These findings provide a new lens through which to view physical health disparities among today’s middle- to late-aged adults who came of age in traditional households.