Family functioning in an international sample of households reporting adult caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

This article was conceptualized by Michaela E. Larson and Jennifer V. Chavez. All formal analysis was completed by Michaela E. Larson The original draft was written by Michaela E. Larson and Jennifer V. Chavez. Victoria Behar-Zusman was involved with revising and editing the manuscript, and supervision of all related activities.We certify that we have complied with the APA ethical principles regarding research with human participants and/or care and use of animals in the conduct of research presented in this article.

A descriptive literature review of early research on COVID-19 and close relationships

“…Many parents with older children (i.e., college-aged and over) saw them return home for an extended period of time in record numbers (e.g., Fry et al, 2020 ). Some children may have had to care for parents who contracted COVID-19 or faced additional difficulties as existent caregivers when nursing homes, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities closed or added strict pandemic regulations (e.g., Larson et al, 2021 ). This is all in addition to the COVID-19 social distancing, lockdowns, and travel restrictions that prevented the types of visits, ceremonies, celebrations, and rituals that normally keep family ties strong.…”

“…Adult children also experienced turbulence and conflict when communicating with their parents during the pandemic. In one specific, but common, context, family caregiving households reported more conflict related to social distancing in mid-to late-2020 than non-caregiving households in an 84-country sample ( Larson et al, 2021 ). In addition, in a sample of American college students who had moved home due to COVID-19, relational turbulence with their parents was associated with students’ stress, depression, and anxiety ( Worley & Mucci-Ferris, 2021 ).…”

Incident and Recurrent Depression among Adults Aged 50 Years and Older during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

“…Research on the recurrence of depression has found that experiencing a high number of depressive episodes in one’s lifetime and/or more severe depressive episodes are both associated with depression relapse and a shorter time to depression recurrence [ 34 ]. In addition, risk factors for recurring depressive symptoms in later life, such as loneliness [ 16 ] and stressful life events, including financial difficulties and relationship conflict [ 34 ] have been exacerbated by the pandemic [ 35 , 36 ].…”

L’évolution du soutien disponible aux employés proches aidants depuis la pandémie : regards de gestionnaires

“…Par ailleurs, bien que certains participants percevaient une vague de « conscientisation sociale » vis-à-vis des problématiques de proche aidance, la pandémie a cependant entraîné la sortie du marché du travail pour de nombreuses PPA, qui ont dû quitter leur emploi pour prendre soin de leur proche, notamment faute de trouver les services nécessaires étant donné la réduction des services publics (Larson et al, 2021). Ainsi, il ne semble pas exister à l'heure actuelle de mesures suffisantes pour empêcher les PPA de tomber dans une spirale de pertes de ressources (Hobfoll, 2001).…”

“…Les PPA en particulier ont fait face à un accroissement des difficultés liées aux soins et une détérioration de leur propre santé ainsi que celle de leur proche (Anderson et al, 2022;Beach et al, 2021). De même, de nombreuses PPA ont dû quitter le marché du travail à cause des soins durant cette période (Larson et al, 2021). En même temps, certaines recherches indiquent que le contexte pandémique aurait rendu les employeurs plus compréhensifs vis-à-vis des problématiques familiales de leurs employés (Mathieu et Tremblay, 2022a,b, 2020.…”