Latent Patterns of Older Parents' Perceived Intergenerational Relationships in Urban China: The Role of Coresidence

ABSTRACT Objective This study examines latent patterns of older parents' perceived intergenerational relationships (PIR) in urban China and their associations with living arrangements, particularly the gender and marital status of coresiding adult children. Background Intergenerational relationships are often studied through support exchanges, but older parents' subjective perceptions of relationships remain less understood, especially in non‐Western contexts. Method Using data from the 2021 Shanghai Family Cohort Study, we applied latent class analysis to identify PIR patterns based on affectual and conflictual indicators. Multinomial logistic regression was then used to examine associations between PIR patterns and living arrangements, with attention to parental gender and coresiding children's characteristics. Results Four PIR patterns were identified: amicable, ambivalent, detached, and disharmonious. Parents coresiding with married daughters, rather than married sons, were more likely to belong to the amicable rather than detached PIR pattern. Coresidence with unmarried children was associated with a higher likelihood of belonging to the ambivalent pattern. Mothers' PIR varied more strongly across living arrangements than fathers'. Mothers living with married daughters and fathers living with unmarried daughters showed high probabilities of belonging to the amicable PIR pattern, whereas fathers living with married daughters and mothers living with unmarried daughters showed relatively high probabilities of belonging to the ambivalent PIR pattern. Conclusion PIR in urban China reflects both enduring patrilocal expectations and emerging bilateral family norms. Implications Findings highlight the growing importance of daughters and bilateral family ties, suggesting that community‐based services may help ease ambivalence in coresident families while sustaining intergenerational closeness.