Parental Caregiving by Adult Children

TLDR

Recent social gerontology research highlights the family, especially adult daughters, as key caregivers for community‑based elderly with impairments. This study examines how employment status and other family responsibilities influence the amount of help adult children give to their elderly parents. The authors interviewed a probability sample of 753 noninstitutionalized elders and 502 informal helpers, focusing analysis on helpers who were the elders’ sons or daughters. Assistance hours declined with greater parental impairment, were lower when the elder’s spouse was present, and were reduced for married or employed children—employment cut sons’ help but did not affect daughters.

Abstract

Recent research in social gerontology has highlighted the importance of the family, particularly adult daughters, as caregivers for the impaired and chronically ill communitybased elderly. This paper explores the impact of employment and competing familial responsibilities on the level of assistance provided to elderly parents by adult children. Data were collected through personal interviews with a probability sample of noninstitutionalized elderly persons (N = 753) and their informal helpers (N = 502). Analysis is restricted to informal helpers who are sons or daughters of the older respondent. Hours of assistance varied in response to the level of parental impairment. The presence of the older parent's spouse was negatively related to hours of help. Competing demands on the helpers' time, particularly marital status, had a significant impact, with married children providing less help. Being employed significantly decreased the hours of assistance provided by sons but did not have a significant impact on the hours of assistance provided by daughters.