Informal Caregiving to Aging Family Members: A Critical Review

Walker, Alexis J.; Pratt, Clara C.; Eddy, Linda L.

doi:10.2307/584996

Cited by 206 publications

(158 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…The role of adult daughters as caregivers has received widespread attention (see Walker et al 1995, for a review). One might assume that the mental health of parents with adult daughters living nearby is better than those of parents whose adult daughters live far away, or of parents who have only adult sons living at any distance from their parents' home.…”

Section: Determinants Of Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children’s impact on the mental health of their older mothers and fathers: findings from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe

2008

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The relation between social support and mental health has been thoroughly researched and structural characteristics of the social network have been widely recognised as being an important component of social support. The aim of this paper is to clarify the association between children and depressive mood states of their older parents. Based on international comparative data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe we analysed how the number of children, their proximity and the frequency of contact between older parents and their children are associated with the mental health of older people, using the EURO-D index. Our results indicate a positive association of children and depressive mood since childless men and women report more depressive symptoms. Moreover, few contacts with children were associated with an increased number of depressive symptoms. The family status was related to mental health as well: older men and women living with a spouse or partner had the lowest levels of depression. Interestingly, the presence of a spouse or partner was more relevant for the mental health of older people than the presence of, or contact with, their children.

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Section: Determinants Of Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children’s impact on the mental health of their older mothers and fathers: findings from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe

2008

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“…The primary caregiver in the family, the individual who provides the majority of caregiving tasks, is usually a female (Brody, 1990;Brubaker, 1990;Townsend & Franks, 1997;Walker et al, 1995). Males (i.e., both husbands and sons), assume some caregiving responsibility, however, they usually assume care secondary to female family members (Bass & Noelker, 1997;Zarit & Eggebeen, 1995).…”

Section: Family Caregivingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A common research topic associated with caregiving is the illustration of negative experiences associated with providing care to a parent (Townsend & Franks, 1997;Walker et al, 1995). Caregivers often feel a sense of burden, stress, sleeplessness, and conflict associated with the long hours of caregiving (Stephens, Franks, & Townsend, 1994).…”

Section: Family Caregivingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past 20 years, family caregiving has dominated the literature in gerontology (Allen, Blieszner, & Roberto, 2000;Bass & Noelker, 1997;Brubaker, 1990;Horowitz, 1995;Walker, Pratt, & Eddy, 1995). With the increase in life expectancy and shrinking family size, the increase of dual-earner households, and the increase in multiple generation families, researchers are interested in examining caregiving issues among the aging population (Biegel, Sales, & Schulz, 1991;Bengtson, Giarrusso, Silverstein, & Wang, 2000;Hodgson, 1998;Price & Rose, 2000;Stephens & Franks, 1999).…”

Section: Background Of the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grandchildren's Perceptions of Caring for Grandparents

Fruhauf

Jarrott²,

Allen

2006

Journal of Family Issues

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Throughout the life course, all family members can expect to find themselves in some type of caregiving role. Individuals may find themselves providing care for a child or for an older family member who needs assistance. With the increase in life expectancy and the shrinking family size, individuals may find themselves spending time providing care to older family members. Despite the fact that caregiving related issues are well researched in the field of gerontology, the developmental experiences of grandchildren caregivers and the meanings of their caregiving experiences have not been explored in previous empirical work.Influenced by symbolic interactionism theory and the life course and life-span perspectives, the research questions that guide this study are: What is the nature of caregiving from the perspectives of grandchildren in the grandparent-grandchild relationship? What meanings do grandchildren give to the caregiving role? A qualitative study was conducted to examine the experiences of adult grandchildren (21-29 years old) who were currently providing some type of care-related activity for at least one grandparent. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews, lasting 30-80 minutes, with 17 grandchildren caregivers were conducted one time to examine the participants' caregiving experience. All interviews were completed at a location of the participants' choice. Interviews were tape-recorded and tapes were transcribed verbatim to aid in data analysis. Grandchildren caregivers' experiences illustrate variation with the reasons for providing care and the amount of time engaged in care related activities. Grandchildren were assisting with instrumental activities of daily living and activities of daily living.Reasons for providing care included grandparents' chronic illness or gradual aging, a crisis or event that left grandparents needing assistance, and because they had been providing care since they were young children. The amount of time grandchildren engaged in care related activities ranged from daily to several hours a week during summer and winter breaks. Grandchildren caregivers reported that family values, making iii grandparents happy, and preparing for the future were how they made sense of their role.Grandchildren experienced benefits and drawbacks from assisting grandparents and discussed how parents served as mediators and distracters to their caregiving role.Grandchildren caregivers exhibited the ability to adapt to caregiving situations and develop coping mechanisms that allowed them to be successful caregivers. Service professionals may want to include grandchildren caregivers in established support groups, caregiver programs, and enhance caregiver resources to support the generational needs of grandchildren caregivers in their 20s.iv To my grandparents, with love

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“…As the aging population increases, so does the need for family caregivers for elder frail relatives. In the United States, families assume a large share of caregiving responsibilities for elderly relatives (Amirkhanyan & Wolf, 2006;authors, 1994;Travis & Piercy, 2002;Walker, Pratt, & Eddy, 1995). The number of family and friends who provide some level of long-term care to elders in the community is now close to 30 million persons, and the value of their unpaid services is estimated to be worth between $275 and $300 billion annually (Arno, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%