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16 - Care Giving and Its Influence on Marital Interactions between Older Spouses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2009

By
Helen E. Edwards  and
Patricia Noller
Edited by
Patricia Noller  and
Judith A. Feeney
Helen E. Edwards
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Patricia Noller
Affiliation:
Professor of Psychology, University of Queensland
Patricia Noller
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Judith A. Feeney
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
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Summary

The following is an extract of a conversation between an elderly man and his wife who was caring for him:

Husband: Well I'd like to talk about the showering.

Wife: Oh we've been over that and over.

Husband: Because I have some problems in the night I might be smelly when people come to visit and I'd like to be fresh and clean for the day.

Wife: Poof – been over – over all this.

Husband: I know you want to clean me up before I go to bed but I'd rather you showered me in the morning.

Wife: Oh, let's talk about the garden. What should we plant this year? Do you think the roses need pruning?

Husband: I want to shower in the morning.

Wife: Enough, enough. Laughs Come on, let's talk about our beautiful garden.

Husband: Plant what you like.

Wife: Well how about your favourites, zinnias?

As this extract demonstrates, communication is an important, but sometimes difficult, part of care giving. Family care giving for older people has received much attention in the literature, especially from the perspective of the caregiver. Interestingly, only a limited number of studies have examined the interactional processes of care (for example, Phillips, Morrison, Steffl, Chae, Cromwell, & Russell, 1995). Studies that have examined these issues have shown that, in terms of well-being and quality of relationships, the outcomes of care giving may be just as “negative” for older care recipients as for their carers; further, communication is an important aspect of these relationships.

Type
Chapter
Information
Understanding Marriage
Developments in the Study of Couple Interaction
 , pp. 437 - 462
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2002

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