Is Parent Care Normative? The Experiences of a Sample of Middle-Aged Women

Abstract

In the current literature on parent care, the assertion is made that modern women at some time in their lives may expect to be sandwiched between responsibilities to old parents and their other commitments. This article presents the distribution for a random sample of 163 women aged 40 to 69 with respect to combinations of variables or commitment configurations that have been identified in the literature as contributing to women's being "caught in the middle." In addition, the lifetime caregiving experiences and the likelihood that those who have not yet been caregivers will be "caught" are examined for a subsample of the women. The argument is made that adult children rather than caregivers to frail parents are the appropriate population on which to focus if the incidence and prevalence of the involvement of adult children in parent care are to be ascertained.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Archbold, P. 1983. "Impact of Parent-Caring on Women." Family Relations 32:39-46.

Bengtson, V. L. , N. E. Cutler , D. J. Mangen , and V. W. Marshall . 1985. "Generations, Cohorts, and Relations Between Age Groups." Pps. 304-338 in Handbook of Aginig and the Social Sciences, edited by R. H. Binstock and E. Shanas . New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Brody, E. M. 1981. "'Women in the Middle' and Family Help to Older People." Gerontologist 25:19-29.

Brody, E. M. 1985. "Parent Care as a Normative Family Stress." Gerontologist 25:19-29.

Cantor, M. F. 1983. "Strain Among Caregivers: A Study of Experience in the United States." Gerontologist 23:597-604.

Chappell, N. L. 1983. "Informal Support Networks Among the Elderly." Research on Aging 5:77-99.

Connidis, I. 1983. "Living Arrangement Choices of Older Residents." Canadian Journal of Sociology 8:359-375.

Hess. B. and J. Waring . 1978. "Changing Patterns of Aging and Family Bonds in Later Life." Family Coordinator 27:303-314.

Horowitz, A. 1985a. "Family Caregiving to the Frail Elderly." Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics 5:

10.

Horowitz, A. 1985b. "Sons and Daughters as Caregivers to Older Parents: Differences in Role Performance and Consequences." Gerontologist 25:612-617.

11.

Marshall, V. W. 1987. "Factors Affecting Response and Completion Rates in Some Canadian Studies." Canadian Journal on Aging 6:217-227.

12.

Matthews, S. H. 1988. "The Burdens of Parent Care: A Critical Assessment of the Recent Literature." Journal of Aging Studies 2:158-165.

13.

Miller, D. 1981. "The `Sandwich' Generation: Adult Children of the Aging." Social Work 26:419-423.

14.

Montgomery, R.J.V. , J. G. Gonyea , and N. R. Hooyman . 1985. "Caregiving and the Experience of Subjective and Objective Burden." Family Relations 34:19-26.

15.

Neugarten, B. L. 1979. "The Middle Generation." Pp. 258-265 in Aging Parents, edited by P. K. Ragan . Los Angeles: University of Southern California Press.

16.

Noelker, L. A. and R. W. Wallace . 1985. "The Organization of Family Care for Impaired Elderly." Journal of Family Issues 6:23-44.

17.

Poulshock, W. S. and G. T. Deimling . 1984. "Families Caring for Elders in Residence: Issues in the Measurement of Burden." Journal of Gerontology 39:230-239.

18.

Riley, M. W. 1983. "The Family in an Aging Society: A Matrix of Latent Relationships." Journal of Family Issues 4:439-454.

19.

Shulman, N. and W. Bond . 1978. Urban Indicators: Statistical Profiles of Quality of Life for Canadian Cities (rev. ed.). Ottawa, Ontario: Ministry of State, Urban Affairs.

20.

Siegel, J. S. and C. M. Taeuber . 1986. "Demographic Perspectives on Long-Lived Societies." Daedaluts 115:77-117.

21.

Stone, R. , G. L. Cafferata , and J. Sangl . 1987. "Caregivers of the Frail Elderly: A National Profile." Gerontologist 27:616-626.

22.

Townsend, A. and W. S. Poulshock . 1986. "Intergenerational Perspectives of Impaired Elders' Support Networks." Journal of Gerontology 41:101-109.

23.

Treas, J. 1977. "Family Support Systems for the Aged: Social and Demographic Considerations." Gerontologist 17:486-491.

24.

Uhlenberg, P. 1980. "Death and the Family." Journal of Family History 6:313-320.