scholarly journals Antecedents to Caregiving Differences in Black and White Families

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 907-907
Author(s):  
Kristie Wood ◽  
Yee To Ng ◽  
Meng Huo ◽  
Karen Fingerman

Abstract Researchers have observed racial differences in midlife adults’ caregiving for aging parents. Black adults typically provide more parental caregiving and report greater rewards in doing so. We asked whether Black and White young adults differ in their support to midlife parents, and furthermore, whether this support differs based on parental gender. We also examined cultural beliefs and rewards of providing support underlying racial differences in support to parents. Black and White young adults from the Family Exchanges Study II (2013; aged 18–30 years; n=114 Black and, n=358 White) reported support provided to parents, and beliefs and rewards associated with support. We assessed 6 types of support (emotional, advice, listening to talk, socializing, practical, and financial) to each parent rated 1 = once a year or less often to 8 = everyday. Multilinear models revealed that Black young adults gave significantly more support to parents than White offspring, and these racial differences were mediated by filial obligation beliefs. Compared to White young adults, Black offspring provided more frequent support to their mothers and reported that it was more rewarding, and endorsed more negative relationship quality with mothers than with fathers. Research has shown that involvement correlates with conflict, which may underlie these findings. Further, compared to White offspring, Black young adults show significantly more behaviors that lead to caregiving in later life, and there are nuanced gender differences within Black parent-child relationships, which may need to be better understood to support Black caregivers.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S284-S284
Author(s):  
Kristie A Wood ◽  
Meng Huo ◽  
Yee To Ng ◽  
Karen Fingerman

Abstract Researchers have observed racial differences in support to midlife parents. Black adults typically provide more support to parents and report greater rewards in doing so. We were interested in whether this differential trend can be observed in young adulthood. Furthermore, we aimed to understand cultural beliefs underlying any racial differences in support provided to parents. We examined support Black and White young adults provided to their parents, and beliefs associated with that support. Young adults (aged 18–35 years; 26%, n=184 Black and 74%, n=525 White) from the Family Exchanges Study II (2013) participated. They reported how often they provided 4 types of support (financial, technical, practical, emotional) to each parent (N =824) on a scale from 1 = once a year or less often to 8 = everyday. Multilevel models revealed Black young adults provided more frequent support to parents than White young adults, mediated by beliefs about familial obligation. Interestingly, we also found that Black young adults report significantly more negative relationship quality with parents and a stronger desire for support from parents when compared to White young adults. Findings suggest that Black young adults may espouse collective and interdependent values such as the ability to provide for a family and to receive support from family. Further, more frequent support may co-occur with conflicts that suggest that congruence between values and support do not necessarily inspire harmonious ties.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 393-394
Author(s):  
Yifei Hou ◽  
J Jill Suitor ◽  
Megan Gilligan ◽  
Destiny Ogle ◽  
Catherine Stepniak ◽  
...  

Abstract The cost of raising grandchildren on grandmothers’ mental and physical health has been well-documented; however, little is known about whether raising grandchildren also has a cost on grandmothers’ relationships with the adult children whose children the grandmothers have raised. Drawing from theories of exchange and affect, stress process model, and racial differences in intergenerational solidarity, we tested how raising grandchildren affects grandmother-adult child relations. Further, we explored the extent to which these patterns differed by race. To address this question, we used mixed-methods data collected from 553 older mothers regarding their relationships with their 2,016 adult children; approximately 10% of the mothers had raised one or more of their grandchildren “as their own.” Data were provided by the Within-Family Differences Study-I. Multilevel analyses showed that raising grandchildren was associated with greater closeness in grandmother-adult child relationship in Black families; however, in White families, raising grandchildren was associated with greater conflict in the grandmother-adult child relationship. Further, the differences by race in the effects of raising grandchildren on closeness and conflict were statistically significant. Qualitative analyses revealed that race differences in the association between raising grandchildren and relationship quality could be explained by mothers’ reports of greater family solidarity in Black than White families. Our findings highlight the ways in which race and family solidarity interact to produce differences in the impact of raising grandchildren on Black and White mothers’ assessment of the quality of their relationships with their adult children, consistent with broader patterns of racial differences in intergenerational cohesion.


2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi J. Spence ◽  
Daniel E. Adkins ◽  
Matthew E. Dupre

Despite recent increases in life course research on mental illness, important questions remain about the social patterning of, and explanations for, depression trajectories among women in later life. The authors investigate competing theoretical frameworks for the age patterning of depressive symptoms and the physical health, socioeconomic, and family mechanisms differentiating black and white women. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, the authors use linear mixed (growth curve) models to estimate trajectories of distress for women aged 52 to 81 years ( N = 3,182). The results demonstrate that: (1) there are persistently higher levels of depressive symptoms among black women relative to white women throughout later life; (2) physical health and socioeconomic status account for much of the racial gap in depressive symptoms; and (3) marital status moderates race differences in distress. The findings highlight the importance of physical health, family, and socioeconomic status in racial disparities in mental health.


Author(s):  
Spencier Ciaralli ◽  
Gary T. Deimling ◽  
Dyanna L. Burnham

This paper compares disability perceptions of Black with white older cancer survivors’ to document racial disparities in these perceptions and the factors that contribute to them. The data are from a randomly selected tumor registry sample of 321 older adult cancer survivors from an NCI funded study. OLS regression models of disability perceptions, nested by race, examined the effects cancer and non-cancer health factors along with important covariates. Black older adult cancer survivors perceived themselves to be more disabled than did white survivors. Multivariate analyses showed a strong relationship between functional difficulties and disability perceptions for both Black and white survivors. However cancer-related factors such as continuing symptoms of the illness or treatment were relatively more important for Blacks. The findings suggest that race and cancer are both important factors in our understanding of disability in later life. These findings can then inform clinical best practices among minority older adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 870-871
Author(s):  
Iulia Fratila ◽  
Liza Berdychevsky

Abstract Sexual expression is a lifelong need related to health and wellbeing. However, older adults’ sexuality is often neglected and stigmatized due to societal ageist stereotypes portraying them as asexual. Although baby boomers’ generation resists such portrayals, societal acceptance of sexuality in later life is slow to materialize. The purpose of this study was to explore this acceptance among young adults while focusing on three research questions: (1) How much do young adults know about older adults’ sexuality and how do they feel about it? (2) Do young adults’ knowledge and views of later-life sexuality vary by gender? (3) Do young adults’ views of later-life sexuality vary based on their general attitudes toward sexuality? Data collection included online and intercept survey methods. The sample (N=270) was young (M=21.58 years, SD=4.32) and included 149 women and 113 men. Results revealed that young adults had medium levels of knowledge, yet rather permissive/open-minded attitudes regarding later-life sexuality. Higher levels of knowledge were unrelated to more permissive attitudes. Independent samples t-test revealed no differences by gender in young adults’ knowledge and attitudes. However, multiple regression results indicated that general liberal attitudes toward sexuality (β=.772, t=17.867, p=.000) and viewing sex as leisure activity (β=.147, t=3.338, p=.001) are significant predictors of having more permissive/open-minded attitudes toward older adults’ sexuality (R2=.557, F(3,266)=111.390, p=.000). These findings suggest that socio-psychological (rather than cognitive and demographic) factors drive the acceptance of later-life sexuality among young adults. This study offers valuable insights for knowledge, practice, and advocacy concerning older adults’ sexuality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 296-296
Author(s):  
Caroline Hartnett

Abstract Cognitive decline common in the U.S. and greatly impacts quality of life, both for those who experience it and for those who care for them. Black Americans experience higher burdens of cognitive decline but the mechanisms underlying this disparity have not been fully elucidated. Stress experienced in early life is a promising explanatory factor, since stress and cognition are linked, childhood stressors been shown to have a range of negative implications later in life, and Black children experience more childhood stressors than White children, on average. In this paper, we use data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to examine whether stressful experiences in childhood help explain Black-White disparities in memory loss. These data were available for 5 state-years between 2011 and 2017 (n=11,708). Preliminary results indicate that, while stressful childhood experiences are strongly associated with memory loss, stressful experiences do not mediate the association between race and memory loss. However, race does appear to moderate the association between stressful childhood experiences and memory loss. Specifically, stressful experiences are associated with a higher likelihood of memory loss for Black adults compared to White adults.In addition, there seem to be some noteworthy patterns across different types of experiences (i.e. parental drinking may predict later memory loss more strongly for Black adults than White adults, but parental hitting may predict memory loss more strongly for White adults than Black adults).


2019 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 46-53
Author(s):  
Lonnie T. Sullivan ◽  
Hillary Mulder ◽  
Karen Chiswell ◽  
Linda K. Shaw ◽  
Tracy Y. Wang ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Alexis R. Stefaniak ◽  
Jessica M. Blaxton ◽  
C. S. Bergeman

The present study explores differences in daily stress across individuals of varying ages. Specifically, we explore whether age group (young adult, midlife, late midlife, later life) relates to differences in types of stress (family, friends, partner, health, finances, work), total stress exposure, and perceptions of daily stress intensity. Participants from the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being (NDHWB; N = 891) completed daily questionnaires assessing negative small life events and perceived stress for 8 weeks. Findings indicated that young adults reported a higher average number of family, spouse, finance, and work-related stress. Additionally, total daily stress was highest among young adults, and perceived stress was lowest among later life adults. Because daily stress relates to long-term mental and physical stress, gaining a better understanding of how individuals at different points in the life span uniquely experience stress can inform intervention and preventative care techniques aimed at promoting optimal well-being.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document