Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Prepared to care: adult attachment and filial obligation
- Authors:
- PAULSON Daniel, BASSETT Rachel
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 20(11), 2016, pp.1221-1228.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: Past work found that close adult attachment dimension scores predict caregiver preparedness. Theory and past research suggests filial obligation (FO) may mediate the relationship between attachment and caregiver preparedness. The goal of this study was to test that hypothesis. Method: The sample, collected using Mechanical Turk, included 165 women between the ages of 45 and 65 years who were not providing care to an ageing parent. Participants were reimbursed $0.75 for completing an online survey assessing response validity, dimensions of adult attachment, depressive symptomatology, FO, and caregiver preparedness, among other variables. The mean participant age was 52.2 years (SD = 5.5). Results: The sample was predominantly White/Caucasian (82.6%), and Black/African American (7.3%). With respect to education, 14.5% completed high school or general education development (GED), 32.7% completed some college, 36.4% completed a Bachelor's degree, and 15.7% completed graduate degrees. The three attachment dimensions (close, dependent, and anxious) and FO were all significantly inner-correlated. Stepwise multiple regression analyses found that FO fully mediates the relationship between close attachment and caregiver preparedness, even after controlling for age, education, income, depression, and birth order. Conclusion: The primary finding is that FO mediates the relationship between close attachment style and caregiver preparedness among prospective caregivers. This suggests that individual differences in attachment style among prospective caregivers indirectly predict preparedness for future caregiving through FO, suggesting a mechanism relating attachment style and preparation for future care. (Edited publisher abstract)
What are the issues affecting grandparents in Britain today?
- Author:
- SMETHERS Sam
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 16(1), 2015, pp.37-43.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the role that grandparents play in family life in Britain today with a particular focus on demographic change and the grandparental caring contribution for both children and older adults. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing upon a wide range of sources the author sets out the context, recent demographic and economic trends and presents a way forward. Findings: The research presented in this paper suggests that grandparents are playing an increasingly important role in family life and their caring contribution makes a material difference to maternal employment rates in particular. It also suggests that those who step in to the parenting role face particular challenges which need to be addressed. Research limitations/implications: Further research into the significance of the grandparent/grandchild relationship is needed, together with the caring contribution of those who provide intensive support to families in times of crisis both in terms of the impact that has on the grandparents but also the difference it makes to parents and children. Practical implications: One key practical implication is the need for a formal childcare infrastructure in the UK which does not assume that grandparents will always be there to provide childcare for working parents on the scale they do today. Social implications: Grandparents are living longer so more of them will have longer-lasting relationships with their grandchildren. But mothers are also ageing and so gradually over time the age at which we become grandparents will also be pushed back. This may in turn mean that grandparents in 20 years time may be less involved in childcare in any case. (Publisher abstract)
Family relations and life satisfaction of older people: a comparative study between two different hukous in China
- Author:
- YUNONG Huang
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 32(1), January 2012, pp.19-40.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study investigated the relationships between family relations and life satisfaction between the two groups of older people with different hukous (‘class system' residency permits) in Putian, China. Five domains were explored: family support network; satisfaction with family support; family harmony; filial support; and filial discrepancy. A total of 532 questionnaires, 263 from agricultural hukous and 269 from non-agricultural hukous, were included. Analyses revealed that the five factors were correlated significantly with life satisfaction for both groups of older people. When controlling for socio-demographic variables, filial support was associated with life satisfaction for both groups of older people; satisfaction with family support and filial discrepancy was only associated with life satisfaction among older people with agricultural hukous. Family harmony only contributed to explaining life satisfaction among older people with non-agricultural hukous. The policy and practice implications of the study are presented in the context of China's social and economic changes.
Careworn country
- Authors:
- BROWN Kevin, MATTHEWS Emma
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 06.04.06, 2006, pp.34-35.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
This article considers the provision of informal care and how it is likely to be affected by changes in population and in family structure. It argues that, even with a promotion of actively involved citizens, there is likely to be a significant growth in demand for social care services as the structure of society shifts. This will have major implications for the role of social workers and for social policy.
Seeing the collective: family arrangements for care at home for older people with dementia
- Authors:
- CECI Christine, BROWN Holly Symonds, PURKIS Mary Ellen
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 39(6), 2019, pp.1200-1218.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
With the predicted growth in the number of people with dementia living at home across the globe, the need for home-based care is expected to increase. As such, it will be primarily family carers who will provide this crucial support to family members. Designing appropriate support for family carers is thus essential to minimise risks to their health, to prevent premature institutionalisation or poor care for persons with dementia, as well as to sustain the effective functioning of health and social care systems. To date, the high volume of research related to care at home and acknowledged low impact of interventions suggests that a re-examination of the nature of care at home, and how we come to know about it, is necessary if we are to advance strategies that will contribute to better outcomes for families. This paper describes findings from an ethnographic study that was designed to support an analysis of the complexity and materiality of family care arrangements – that is, the significance of the actual physical, technological and institutional elements shaping care-giving situations. This paper describes the arrangements made by one family to show the necessary collectivity of these arrangements, and the consequences of the formal care system's failure to respond to these. (Edited publisher abstract)
Adult children stepping in? long-term care reforms and trends in children's provision of household support to impaired parents in the Netherlands
- Authors:
- BROEK Thijs van den, DYKSTRA Pearl A., VEEN Romke J. van der
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 39(1), 2019, pp.112-137.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Recent long-term care (LTC) reforms in the Netherlands are illustrative of those taking place in countries with a universalistic LTC model based on extensive provision of state-supported services. They entail a shift from de-familialisation, in which widely available state-supported LTC services relieve family members from the obligations to care for relatives in need, to supported familialism, in which family involvement in care-giving is fostered through support and recognition for families in keeping up their caring responsibilities. Using data from four waves of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (N = 2,197), the authors show that between 2002 and 2014 the predicted probability that adult children provide occasional household support to impaired parents rose substantially. Daughters more often provided household support to parents than did sons, but no increase in the gender gap over time was found. The authors could not attribute the increase in children's provision of household support to drops in the use of state-supported household services. The finding that more and more adult children are stepping in to help their ageing parents fits a more general trend in the Netherlands of increasing interactions in intergenerational families. (Edited publisher abstract)
A pilot randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction for caregivers of family members with dementia
- Authors:
- BROWN Kirk Warren, COOGLE Constance L., WEGELIN Jacob
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 20(11), 2016, pp.1157-1166.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: The majority of care for those with Alzheimer's disease and other age-related dementias is provided in the home by family members. To date, there is no consistently effective intervention for reducing the significant stress burden of many family caregivers. The present pilot randomised controlled trial tested the efficacy of an adapted, eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programme, relative to a near structurally equivalent, standard social support (SS) control condition for reducing caregiver stress and enhancing the care giver–recipient relationship. Method: Thirty-eight family caregivers were randomised to MBSR or SS, with measures of diurnal salivary cortisol, and perceived stress, mental health, experiential avoidance, caregiver burden, and relationship quality collected pre- and post-intervention and at three-month follow-up. Results: MBSR participants reported significantly lower levels of perceived stress and mood disturbance at post-intervention relative to SS participants. At three-month follow-up, participants in both treatment conditions reported improvements on several psychosocial outcomes. At follow-up, there were no condition differences on these outcomes, nor did MBSR and SS participants differ in diurnal cortisol response change over the course of the study. Conclusion: Both MBSR and SS showed stress reduction effects, and MBSR showed no sustained neuroendocrine and psychosocial advantages over SS. The lack of treatment condition differences could be attributable to active ingredients in both interventions, and to population-specific and design factors. (Edited publisher abstract)
Homicidal ideation in family carers of people with dementia
- Authors:
- O'DWYER Siobhan T., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 20(11), 2016, pp.1174-1181.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objective: Family carers of people with dementia have higher than average rates of suicidal ideation, but there has been no research on homicidal ideation in this population. The aim of this study was to explore thoughts of homicide in family carers of people with dementia. Method: A descriptive qualitative approach was taken. Twenty-one Australian carers (7 men, 14 women) participated in individual, in-depth interviews and the transcripts were analysed thematically. Results: Seven themes were identified in the data – active thoughts of homicide; understanding homicidal thoughts in others; passive thoughts of death; euthanasia; homicidal thoughts in other caregiving situations; abuse; and disclosing thoughts of harm. Two of the 21 participants had actively contemplated the homicide of their care recipient, four expressed a passive desire for the care recipient's death, and four reported physically or verbally abusing the care recipient. Only one carer had previously disclosed these experiences. Conclusion: Homicidal ideation is a real and significant phenomenon among family carers of people with dementia. Service providers and health professionals are encouraged to identify and support carers contemplating homicide, but to do so in a way that recognises the broader social context of carer burden. (Publisher abstract)
Parent–child relationships among older Chinese immigrants: the influence of co-residence, frequent contact, intergenerational support and sense of children's deference
- Authors:
- GUO Man, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 36(7), 2016, pp.1459-1482.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Immigration disrupts the bonding process in families. Maintaining close relationships with adult children can be an important protective factor for older immigrants' health and wellbeing. Quantitative research explaining such close relationships is rare. This study examined factors associated with close parent–child relationships in a purposive sample of 236 older Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles who provided information regarding 365 children. Two-level regression models were estimated to investigate factors contributing to cohesive parent–child relationships among these older adults. The findings showed that co-residence, a characteristic that distinguishes immigrant families from most non-immigrant families, was associated with lower parent–child relationship quality. Frequent contact was associated with closer relationships. While receiving instrumental and monetary support from children was associated with favourable ratings of relationships with children, providing such support to children was not related to parents' assessment of relationship quality. Parental perceptions of children being respectful was also associated with better relationship quality ratings. Overall, the findings demonstrate how family-related changes in the immigration context shape parent–child relationships in later life. Implications for future research and practice are provided. (Publisher abstract)
Veterans’ informal caregivers in the “sandwich generation”: a systematic review toward a resilience model
- Authors:
- SMITH-OSBORNE Alexa, FELDERHOFF Brandi
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57(6-7), 2014, pp.556-584.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Social work theory advanced the formulation of the construct of the sandwich generation to apply to the emerging generational cohort of caregivers, most often middle-aged women, who were caring for maturing children and ageing parents simultaneously. This systematic review extends that focus by synthesising the literature on sandwich generation caregivers for the general ageing population with dementia and for veterans with dementia and polytrauma. It develops potential protective mechanisms based on empirical literature to support an intervention resilience model for social work practitioners. This theoretical model addresses adaptive coping of sandwich- generation families facing ongoing challenges related to caregiving demands. (Edited publisher abstract)