Guilt & Grief: When Daughters Place Mothers in Nursing Homes

Abstract

In the US there is a persistent myth that adult children do not care for their aging, dependent parents. Also, nursing home placement of a parent is still perceived as a deviant and selfish act by adult children. Adult daughters experience a relationship loss with their mothers' nursing home placement and progressive deterioration. Daughters experience both recurring guilt and loss with grieving throughout their mothers' nursing home stay and believe that these emotional feelings will be relieved only by their mothers' deaths. An implication of this study is the need for nurses to facilitate successful psychosocial interventions with daughters' loss and grief experienced during their role in the transition process with their mothers from home to nursing home.