Transition Patterns of Intergenerational Solidarity and Digital Communication During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea: Association with Older Parents’ Cognitive Decline

Abstract

This research aimed to discover hidden patterns of intergenerational solidarity and digital communication among older parents and adult children during and after the pandemic, examine the transition patterns of solidarity classes between the two-time points, and investigate whether solidarity transition patterns are associated with older parents’ cognitive decline after the pandemic. Using the Korean longitudinal parent–child dyadic data in 2022 (during the pandemic) and 2023 (after the pandemic) studies, 326 older parent-adult child pairs were used in latent class and latent transition analyses. Results of latent class analyses showed that three solidarity classes were identified among older parents and adult child pairs in 2022 and 2023 studies: Tight-knit traditional, living apart-but-digitally connected, and detached. Results of latent transition analysis showed that the majority of parent–child pairs maintained the same latent classes between 2022 and 2023 studies. Furthermore, this study found that older parents who stayed in the tight-knit traditional latent class during and after the pandemic reported lower cognitive decline compared to those who stayed detached latent class between the two-time points. These findings suggest that structural and functional solidarity are likely to be an important factor in alleviating older parents’ cognitive decline. Intergenerational solidarity can be a basis for preventing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in old age.