Types of Family Caregiving and Daily Experiences in Midlife and Late Adulthood: The Moderating Influences of Marital Status and Age

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 719-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jen D. Wong ◽  
Yetunde Shobo
Keyword(s):  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Family Caregiving ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Late Adulthood ◽  
Daily Diary Study ◽  
Daily Experiences ◽  
The Life Course

Guided by the life-course perspective, this study contributes to the family caregiving, aging, and disability literature by examining the daily experiences of three types of family caregivers in midlife and late adulthood. A sample of 162 caregivers from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States study completed interviews, questionnaires, and a Daily Diary Study. Multilevel models showed the patterns of daily time use did not differ by caregiver types. Caregivers of sons/daughters with developmental disabilities (DD) experienced more daily stressors than caregivers of parents with health conditions (HC) and caregivers of spouses with HC. Unmarried caregivers of sons/daughters with DD reported spending more time on daily leisure activities and exhibited greater daily stressor exposure than other family caregivers. Age did not moderate the associations between caregiver types and daily experiences. Findings highlight the important consideration of the caregivers’ characteristics to better determine the quality of their daily experiences in midlife and late adulthood.

scholarly journals LIFE COURSE EXAMINATION OF GLOBAL AND DAILY PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACTS OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS IN MIDLIFE AND LATE ADULTHOOD

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S819-S819
Author(s):  
Jen D Wong ◽  
Jen D Wong ◽  
Yetty Shobo ◽  
Barbara T Hodgdon
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Marital Status ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Family Caregiving ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Psychosocial Impacts ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Family members often serve as informal caregivers for the first line of care. The complexity of family caregiving suggests the need to examine the personal and environmental resources that contribute to caregivers’ psychosocial well-being. Informed by the life course perspective, this study investigates the impacts of providing care to a family member on global and daily psychosocial well-being, and the moderating influences of age, gender, marital status, and social support. The sample consists of 1449 (M=55.99, SD=9.31) participants from Midlife in the United States (MIDUS-II: Main and Diary) survey. Regression and multilevel models results indicated greater global negative affect and daily stressors in caregivers as compared to non-caregivers. In line with the positive correlates of caregiving, caregivers reported greater daily positive events. Age, gender, and marital status significantly moderated the associations between caregiving and well-being. Findings showed that services aimed at family caregivers should take into account of personal resources.

scholarly journals The Impacts of Discrimination and Filial Caregivers’ Age on Aspects of Physical Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 360-360
Author(s):  
Barbara Hodgdon ◽  
Jen Wong
Keyword(s):  
Physical Health ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Family Caregiving ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Late Adulthood ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Filial caregivers (e.g., individuals caring for a parent or parent-in-law) are a part of the growing number of family caregivers in midlife and late adulthood. The responsibilities that filial caregivers navigate in midlife and late adulthood may expose them to multiple types of discrimination that may decrease their physical health, though this relationship has been understudied. As numbers of family caregivers grow, it is important to examine the potential vulnerability of younger and older filial caregivers’ physical health in the context of discrimination. Informed by the life course perspective, this study compares the physical health of younger (aged 34-64) and older (aged 64-74) filial caregivers who experience discrimination. Filial caregivers (N=270; Mage=53; SD=9.37) from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS-II) Survey reported on demographics, family caregiving, daily discrimination, self-rated physical health, and chronic conditions via questionnaires and phone interviews. Regression analyses showed no differences between younger and older adults’ self-rated physical health or average chronic conditions. However, moderation analyses revealed that younger filial caregivers who experienced greater discrimination reported poorer self-rated physical health than their older counter parts as well as younger and older filial caregivers who experienced less discrimination. Additionally, younger caregivers with greater discrimination exposure exhibited more number of chronic conditions as compared to other caregivers. The study results highlight the impact of the intersection between filial caregivers’ age and discrimination on physical health. Findings have the potential to inform programs that could promote the health of filial caregivers in the face of discrimination.

scholarly journals ALWAYS TRY TO DO MY BEST: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF CHINESE AMERICAN DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S676-S676
Author(s):  
Jinyu Liu ◽  
Bei Wu ◽  
Ada Mui ◽  
Yifan Lou ◽  
Wenxing Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Chinese American ◽  
Chinese Americans ◽  
The United States ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Chinese Family ◽  
Older Chinese ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Objectives: Given the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) in the United States and the rapid growth of the older Chinese American population, many older Chinese Americans are expected to need intensive care because of cognitive impairment. Prior studies on Chinese ADRD caregivers lack comprehensive examinations from a life course perspective that emphasizes the importance of time, context, process and meaning on human development. Using the life course perspective, this study aims to identify challenges and strength of caregiving experience for this population. Methods: We conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 28 Chinese family caregivers of persons with ADRD in New York City. Thematic analysis method was used to assess the interview data. Results: Seven life-course themes emerged from the data. In the domain of challenges, four themes were identified: (1) physical and emotional exhaustion, (2) limited understanding on cognitive health, (3) difficulty in accessing effective and culturally-sensitive health care services for care recipients, and (4) caregivers’ inability to do self-care. Other three themes were found in the domain of strengths: (1) commitment to care due to cultural and religious values, (2) emotional closeness as resource to sustain caregiving, and (3) family support and cohesion. Conclusion: This study indicates that the life course perspective is an important lens to understand challenges and strengths of Chinese American caregivers. This study also suggests that health professionals could incorporate the life course perspective into assessment and intervention development when working with minority and immigrant ADRD family caregivers.

scholarly journals THE INFLUENCE OF RECESSION HARDSHIPS ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING OF SANDWICHED AND FILIAL CAREGIVERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S613-S613
Author(s):  
Barbara Hodgdon ◽  
Jen D Wong
Keyword(s):  
Positive Affect ◽  
Family Caregiving ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Multiple Generations ◽  
Multigenerational Households ◽  
Environmental Mastery ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract The 2007-2009 U.S. Great Recession impacted the lives of many families, and it has been documented that multigenerational households in the U.S. increased by 10% during this period. Given the vulnerability of providing care to multiple generations, there is a need to examine the influence of recession hardships on sandwiched caregiving and psychosocial well-being in the context of more normative caregiving (e.g., filial caregiving). Informed by the life course perspective, this study assessed the impacts of types of family caregiving (sandwiched and filial caregivers) on psychosocial well-being (e.g., affect, environmental mastery, and social actualization) and the moderating role of recession hardships (e.g., job loss, foreclosure). Sandwiched and filial caregivers (N=127; Mage=53; SD=11.02) from the Refresher Cohort of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Survey provide information on demographics, recession hardships, family caregiving, and well-being. Results from regression analyses showed that sandwiched caregivers exhibited lower levels of positive affect and environmental mastery than filial caregivers. Moderation analyses showed that filial caregivers with lower recession hardships exhibited lower positive affect and social actualization when compared to sandwiched caregivers with lower recession hardships. Filial caregivers with lower recession hardships exhibited lower positive affect and social actualization than sandwiched and filial caregivers with greater recession hardships. These results illustrate the complexity of family caregiving in that providing care to multiple generations does not necessarily translate to lower levels of well-being. Study findings have the potential to inform programs that may promote sandwiched caregivers’ well-being and support filial caregivers navigating financial disruptions.

Family Caregivers’ Psychosocial Well-being in the Context of the Great Recession

2021 ◽  
pp. 009141502110376
Author(s):  
Barbara T. Hodgdon ◽  
Jen D. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Multigenerational Households ◽  
Financial Challenges ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Support Family

The economic instability of the Great Recession contributed to a rise in multigenerational households as more individuals took on unanticipated care responsibilities for older family members while navigating financial uncertainties. Guided by the life course perspective, this study compared the psychological and social well-being of family caregivers and examined the moderating influences of financial challenges experienced during the Great Recession. Filial and sandwiched caregivers ( N = 138; Mage = 52.80; SDage = 11.25) from the Refresher Cohort of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) survey provided information on demographics, caregiving, financial challenges, and well-being. Findings from regression analyses showed that sandwiched caregivers exhibited lower environmental mastery and positive relations with others than filial caregivers ( p  = .07). Moderation analyses showed that sandwiched caregivers with fewer than average financial challenges exhibited lower social actualization than the other family caregivers ( p = .01). Study findings underscore the need to support family caregivers’ psychosocial well-being as they navigate caregiving responsibilities and financial disruptions.

Family Caregiving and the Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Intergenerational Transmission ◽  
Family Caregiving ◽  
The United States ◽  
Retirement Savings ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
Lifetime Earnings ◽  
The Impact

The United States relies on uncompensated family caregivers to provide most of the long-term care required by older adults as they age. But such care comes at a significant financial cost to these caregivers in the form of lower lifetime earnings and diminished (or even no) Social Security retirement benefits, ineligibility for Medicare coverage of their healthcare costs, and minimal retirement savings. To reduce the impact of uncompensated caregiving on the intergenerational transmission of poverty, this paper discusses three possible mechanisms of compensating family caregivers: public payments, deemed wage credits under Social Security, and income tax incentives.

Stability and Change in Motherhood Status and Fertility Problem Identification: Implications for Changes in Self-Esteem

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 1674-1695
Author(s):  
Arthur L. Greil ◽  
Julia McQuillan ◽  
Elizabeth Richardson ◽  
Michele H. Lowry ◽  
Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Stability And Change ◽  
Fertility Problem ◽  
Score Analysis ◽  
Theory Of Conjunctural Action ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Life Course

Because motherhood is a valued status, the life course perspective and the theory of conjunctural action suggest the following hypotheses: for women in the United States, gaining the valued identity “mother” should lead to an increase in self-esteem, while identification with a fertility problem identity should lead to a decrease in self-esteem. Using the nationally representative two-wave National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB), we conducted change-score analysis with chained multiple imputation (MICE) to model attrition. We compared changes in self-esteem by change and stability in motherhood and self-identified fertility problem status among women who initially had no children. Results provide support for the hypotheses. All but one group—those who no longer identified a problem and who had a baby—had declines in self-esteem. Women who persisted with a fertility problem identity and did not have a baby had the steepest decline in self-esteem.

scholarly journals LEISURE, LONGITUDINALLY: PARTNER DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT LEISURE DECREASE OVER THE LIFE COURSE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S694-S694
Author(s):  
Jill Juris Naar ◽  
Shelbie Turner
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Utility ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Couple Interactions

Abstract Leisure is a major context within which older couples interact, and researchers have recently called for more longitudinal data analysis exploring how leisure-related couple interactions change over the life course. Several waves of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study include a single-item question asking respondents how much they disagree with their spouse or partner about leisure activities. Given the longitudinal nature of MIDUS, the variable offers great utility to explore shifts in leisure-related couple interactions over the life course. Utilizing longitudinal data from Wave 1 (1995-1997), 2 (2004-2006), and 3 (2013-2015) of the MIDUS study, we explored how leisure-related partner disagreement changed with increased age (age range = 20-93). We first ran an unconditional multilevel model, which revealed that 68% of the variation in leisure-related spousal disagreement was attributed to within-person differences over time, justifying our analysis of longitudinal within-person change. An age-based growth curve model then revealed that leisure-related partner disagreements decreased linearly over the life course (Estimate = -0.01, SE = 0.001, p<.0001). Men reported more leisure-related partner disagreements than women at age 20 (p = 0.002). But men’s reported disagreements decreased over the life course at a faster rate than did women’s reported disagreements (p = 0.03), so that from ages 70-93, men reported less disagreements than women. To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study to explore leisure-related couple disagreements over an extended period of time (20 years). The significance of our results sheds light on the value of longitudinal research on leisure.

scholarly journals Social Disadvantage, Severe Child Abuse, and Biological Profiles in Adulthood

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chioun Lee ◽  
Christopher L. Coe ◽  
Carol D. Ryff
Keyword(s):  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
The United States ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Socially Disadvantaged ◽  
Physiological Dysregulation ◽  
Physiological Profiles ◽  
The Life Course

Guided by the stress process model and the life course perspective, we hypothesize: (1) that childhood abuse is concentrated, in terms of type and intensity, among socially disadvantaged individuals, and (2) that experiencing serious abuse contributes to poor biological profiles in multiple body systems in adulthood. Data came from the Biomarker subsample of Midlife in the United States (2004–2006). We used latent class analysis to identify distinct profiles of childhood abuse, each reflecting a combination of type and severity. Results indicate that disadvantaged groups, women, and those from disadvantaged families are at greater risk of experiencing more severe and multiple types of abuse. Those with more severe and multifaceted childhood abuse show greater physiological dysregulation. Childhood abuse experiences partially accounted for the social status differences in physiological profiles. Our findings underscore that differential exposure to serious childhood stressors plays a significant role in gender and class inequalities in adult health.

Elder Care as Family Labor

1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEFFREY W. DWYER ◽  
KAREN SECCOMBE
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Family Caregiving ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Elder Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Labor ◽  
Frail Elders ◽  
Nationally Representative

This research indicates that gender differences in the performance of specific caregiving tasks and the amount of time spent providing care by family caregivers of frail elders should be considered in the context of family position-related norms and expectations. Using a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized impaired elderly people in the United States ( N = 813), the results show that husbands (when compared to wives) and daughters (when compared to sons) report spending more time and performing a greater number of caregiving tasks. The authors suggest that family position may confound interpretations regarding the association between gender and family caregiving.

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