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The bi-linked impact proposes to typify the impact of an event at the individual level at one point in time and on the life of another family member afterwards.
These effects can correspond to the interaction of life events in between couples, siblings and can even impact different generations.
Due to the nature of family networks, studies indicate that, for instance:
Between couples, for example: Effect of active aging on the health of partners in advanced age groups.
One partner’s active or non-existent involvement in social and/or productive activities can have positive or negative effects on the health and well-being of the other partner, specifically in older couples. The significantly negative impact on the health of older men when the partner’s involvement is lower is something worthy of being observed (Lam & Bolano, 2018).
Or, the negative and/or positive repercussions of work on the partner’s sphere of life.
The workload at the job and in the household where they both work can lead to positive or negative impacts on the different domains of the partner’s social life over time, with a correlation between positive and negative effects on the family and work spheres, even if associated to household-level factors (Altobeili & Moen, 2007).
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Between parents and children, for example: The “contamination” of parental stress and distress on children during extended and accentuated periods of economic hardship: The discomfort, stress sorrow felt by the parents during periods of prolonged and accentuated economic hardship can have negative effects on children who internalize them through negative thoughts and/or moods or externalize them through adopting deviant and/or problematic behaviors (Yuan, 2008).
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Or, for example, the impact of parent’s social-economic and employment status on their children’s educational and employment pathways. The fact that neither parent is employed, may influence whether certain young adults are not in education, employed or in training (NEETs), a transition path to adulthood that departs from the normalized and institutionalized one. Nevertheless, school performance and educational expectations and aspirations, such as aiming to pursue further studies, as well as the socioeconomical and educational characteristics of the parents, play a large role in this relationship and can mediate this impact by weakening or strengthening it (Schoon, 2014). However, the research by Fergusson et al. (2008) shows a positive correlation between the socioeconomic status of the couple, including several dimensions of social stratification such as income, level of education, wealth, and others, with the school performance and educational expectations and aspirations of their children, highlighting in the children’s life course, processes of accumulation of advantages and disadvantages.
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Between siblings, for example: The potential generative effect of a sibling’s marital life on the life of the other siblings - One brother or sister getting divorced can impact the other’s marriage, especially if they are older siblings. Nevertheless, this line of study lacks further research due to the influence of other factors and qualitative analysis of this impact (de Vujist et al., 2017).
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References:
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Lam, J., & Bolano, D. (2018), “Social and productive activities and health among partnered older adults: A couple-level analysis”, Social Science & Medicine
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Altobelli, J., & Moen, P. (2007), “Work–family spillover among dual-earner couples”, Advances in Life Course Research, 12, 361-382.
Yuan, A. S. V. (2008), “Exploring the changes in economic hardship and children's well-being over time: The “linked lives” of parents and children”, Advances in Life Course Research, 13, 321-341
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Schoon, I. (2014), “Parental worklessness and the experience of NEET among their offspring. Evidence from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE)”, Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 5(2), 129-150
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Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., & Boden, J. M. (2008). The transmission of social inequality: Examination of the linkages between family socioeconomic status in childhood and educational achievement in young adulthood. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 26(3), 277-295
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de Vuijst, E., Poortman, A. R., Das, M., & van Gaalen, R. (2017), ”Cross-sibling effects on divorce in the Netherlands”, Advances in Life Course Research, 34, 1-9.
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Text by Marco Carreira (2019)
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