Using 619 mother-daughter dyads interviewed in the 1997 National Longitudinal Surveys of Mature Women and Young Women, this study examines the assistance that adult daughters provide to their mothers and its covariates. Mothers and daughters have low levels of agreement on transfers. Using mothers? reports identifies different covariates of transfers than using daughters? reports. After discrepancies between mother and daughter reports are controlled for, only 3 out of 17 covariates examined are related to transfers, including mothers? widowhood status, the number of mothers? difficulties with activities of daily living, and the distance between mother and daughter residences. These findings suggest that without controlling for discrepancies between mother and daughter reports, the covariates of upward transfers may be inaccurately identified.

We use data from a sample of divorced parents in Wisconsin (N = 1,392) to examine how parents describe their children's living arrangements. Parents are likely to say that the children live with them as opposed to the other parent, controlling for the number of nights children spend with the mother. When the children spend substantial time in both parents’ homes, both parents are less likely to use the phrase live with to describe living arrangements. Together these findings suggest that family researchers no longer can rely on simple questions to capture complex living arrangements. We need clearer and more careful question wording and, in some instances, follow-up questions to accurately describe where children live.