Older adults who provide care for an adult child with a disability have rarely been considered when investigating propensity to plan for future care. Families in these circumstances are at risk of experiencing a crisis as these caregiving parents experience personal health challenges. This study investigated influences on the plans made by adults caring for adult offspring with a disability for their own as well their offspring's future care. Results indicated that parents who cared for an adult child with a disability were more likely to plan for their offspring's than their own care and the more planning they did for their adult child, the more they were likely to do for themselves. Implications are discussed.
AspinwallL. G., & TaylorS. E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 417–436.
2.
BarberC. E. (1988). Correlates of subjective burden among adult sons and daughters caring for aged parents. Journal of Aging Studies, 2(2), 133–144.
3.
BlacherJ., & BakerB. L. (1994). Out-of-home placement for children with retardation: Family decision making and satisfaction. Family Relations, 43, 10–15.
4.
BrechlingB., & SchneiderC. (1993). Preserving autonomy in early stage dementia. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 20, 17–33.
5.
BrubakerE., & BrubakerT. H. (1993). Caring for adult children with mental retardation: Concerns of elderly parents. In RobertoK. (Ed.), The elderly caregiver: Caring for adults with developmental disabilities (pp. 51–60). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
6.
BotsfordA. L., & RuleD. (2004). Evaluation of a group intervention to assist aging parents with permanency planning for an adult offspring with special needs. Social Work, 49, 423–431.
7.
DeimlingG.SmergliaV., & BarresiC. (1990). Health care professionals and family involvement in care-related decisions concerning older patients. Journal of Aging & Health, 2, 310–315.
8.
DietzT. (1995). Patterns of intergenerational assistance within the Mexican American family. Journal of Family Issues, 16(3), 344–356.
9.
GreenbergJ. S.SeltzerM. M., & GreenleyJ. R. (1993). Aging parents of adults with disabilities: The gratifications and frustrations of later-life caregiving. The Gerontologist, 33, 542–550.
10.
HellerT. (1993). Aging caregivers of persons with developmental disabilities: Changes in burden and placement desire. In RobertoK. (Ed.), The elderly caregiver: Caring for adults with developmental disabilities (pp. 21–38). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
11.
HellerT., & FactorA. (1991). Permanency planning for adults with mental retardation living with family caregivers. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 96, 163–176.
12.
HendersonJ., & Gutierrez-MaykaM. (1992). Ethnocultural themes in caregiving to Alzheimer's disease patients in Hispanic families. Clinical Gerontologist, 11, 59–74.
13.
JenningsJ. (1987). Elderly parents as caregivers for their adult dependent children. Social Work, 32, 430–433.
14.
LefleyH. P. (1997). Synthesizing the family caregiving studies: Implications for service planning, social policy, and further research. Family Relations, 46, 443–450.
15.
LoganJ. R., & SpitzeG. D. (1996). Family ties: Enduring relations between parents and their grown children.Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
16.
MaloneyS. K.FinnJ.BloomD., & AndresenJ. (1996). Personal decision making styles and long-term care choices. Health Care Financing Review, 18, 141–156.
17.
MengelM. H.MarcusD. B., & DunkleR. E. (1996). “What will happen to my child when I'm gone?” A support and education group for aging parents as caregivers. The Gerontologist, 36, 816–820.
18.
MillerW. R.RollnickS., & ConfortiK. (2002). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change.New York: Guilford Press.
19.
PinquartM., & SörensenS. (2002). Psychological outcomes of preparation for future care needs. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 21(4), 452–470.
20.
PinquartM.SörensenS., & PeakT. (2004). Helping older adults and their families develop and implement care plans. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 43(3), 3–23.
21.
PrendaK. M., & LachmanM. E. (2001). Planning for the future: A life management strategy for increasing control and life satisfaction in adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 16, 206–216.
22.
PruchnoR. A., & MeeksS. (2004). Health-related stress, affect, and depressive symptoms experienced by caregiving mothers of adults with a developmental disability. Psychology and Aging, 19, 394–401.
23.
RobertoK. A. (1993). Family caregivers of aging adults with disabilities: A review of the caregiving literature. In RobertoK. (Ed.), The elderly caregiver: Caring for adults with developmental disabilities (pp. 3–20). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
24.
RothspanS., & ReadS. J. (1996). Present versus future time perspective and HIV risk among heterosexual college students. Health Psychology, 15, 131–134.
25.
SmithG. C. (2004). Predictors of the stage of residential planning among aging families of adults with severe mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 55, 804–810.
26.
SmithG. C. (2003). Patterns and predictors of service use and unmet needs among aging families of adults with severe mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 54, 871–877.
27.
SmithG. C.HatfieldA. B., & MillerD. C. (2000). Planning by older mothers for the future care of offspring with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 51, 1162–1166.
28.
SörensenS. (1998). Predictors of anticipating caregiving in multigeneration families: An exploratory study. The Journal of Applied Gerontology, 17, 499–520.
29.
SörensenS., & PinquartM. (2000a). Preparation for future care needs by West and East German older adults. Journal of Gerontology, 55, S357–S365.
30.
SörensenS., & PinquartM. (2000b). Preparation for future care needs: Styles of preparation used by older eastern German, United States, and Canadian women. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 15, 349–381.
31.
SörensenS., & PinquartM. (2000c). Vulnerability and access to resources as predictors of preparation for future care needs in the elderly. Journal of Aging and Health, 12, 275–300.
32.
SörensenS., & PinquartM. (2001). Developing a measure of older adults' preparation for future care needs. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 53, 137–165.
33.
SteeleM.PinquartM., & SörensenS. (2003). Preparation dimensions and styles in long term care. Clinical Gerontologist, 23(3/4), 105–122.
WiklerL. M. (1986). Periodic stresses of families of older mentally retarded children: An exploratory study. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 90, 703–706.
