ABSTRACT
Although attachment has been much studied as a theoretical concept explaining the child’s relationship to its parent or caregiver, only in recent years has there been interest in the concept as applied to relationships in adulthood and old age. There are questions regarding the relationships of adult children with their parents that need answers: What accounts for the continuation of the relationship of adult children and their parents into the years beyond adolescence, even across separations of distance and time? More important, what explains the motivations of adult children to provide support and care to aging parents? As yet, other theoretical formulations have been only partially successful in answering these questions.
