Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:38:02.141Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Who's the Family in Family Caregiving?*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Norah Keating ,
Karen Kerr ,
Sharon Warren ,
Michael Grace  and
Dana Wertenberger
Norah Keating
Affiliation:
The Caring Project, University of Alberta
Karen Kerr
Affiliation:
The Caring Project, University of Alberta
Sharon Warren
Affiliation:
The Caring Project, University of Alberta
Michael Grace
Affiliation:
The Caring Project, University of Alberta
Dana Wertenberger
Affiliation:
The Caring Project, University of Alberta
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite a recognition of the importance of families in providing informal care to frail seniors, there is no consensus as to who constitutes the caregiving family. The authors discuss the current ideology about the caregiving family and the state of knowledge about its composition and propose that the caregiving family has actual and potential elements. Based on the assumption that the concept of “who's the family” is socially constructed, the authors argue that it is essential to understand “who's the family” from the perspective of primary caregivers in order to evaluate the nature of family support. This paper challenges the notion that the cargiving family is equivalent to the kin family. It is argued that the status quo in which a simplistic view of family caregiving is used to justify pressure on families to provide more care is not sustainable.

Résumé

En dépit de la reconnaissance du rôle d'information de la famille auprès des personnes âgées fragiles, il n'existe aucune entente sur la composition des familles assurant la prestation de soins. Les auteurs discutent de l'idéologie de l'aide aux aines par la famille et le degré de connaissance sur sa composition. Us proposent que ces familles présentent des caractéristiques actuelles et potentielles. En se fondant sur l'hypothèse que le concept de «la composition de la famille» est le résultat d'une construction sociale, les auteurs démontrent qu'il est essentiel de comprendre «la composition de la famille» selon l'optique des principaux prestateurs de soins afin d'évaluer la nature de l'appui familial. L'ouvrage remet en question la notion que la famille assurant la prestation de soins se compose des proches parents. Les auteurs soutiennent que le statu quo, où une perception simpliste de la famille offrant des soins est utilisée afin d'exercer des pressions sur les familles pour fournir plus de soins, n'a pas d'avenir.

Keywords

Family CaregivingSocial Construction of Family.Aide de la familleconstruction sociale de la famille.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , Été/Summer 1994 , pp. 268 - 287
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abel, E.K. (1991). Who cares for the elderly? Public Policy and the experiences of adult daughters. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Alberta Committee on Long Term Care for Senior Citizens (1988). A new vision for long term care: meeting the need. Edmonton: Queen's Printer for Alberta.Google Scholar
Aronson, J. (1985). Family care of the elderly: Underlying assumptions and their consequences. Canadian Journal on Aging, 4(3), 115–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aronson, J. (1990). Old women's experiences of needing care: Choice or compulsion? Canadian Journal on Aging, 9(3), 234–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baillie, V., Norbeck, J.S., & Barnes, L.E. (1988). Stress, social support and psychological distress of family caregivers of the elderly. Nursing Research, 37(4), 217–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barer, B.M., & Johnson, C.L. (1990). A critique of the caregiving literature. The Gerontologist, 30(1), 26–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birkel, R.C., & Jones, C.J. (1989). A comparison of the caregiving networks of dependent elderly individuals who are lucid and those who are demented. The Gerontologist, 29(1), 114–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blieszner, R., & Alley, J.M. (1990). Family caregiving for the elderly: An overview of resources. Family Relations, 39, 97–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boss, P., Caron, W., Horbal, J., & Mortimer, J. (1990). Predictors of depression in caregivers of dementia patients: Boundary ambiguity and mastery. Family Process, 29, 245–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brody, E.M. (1990). The family at risk. In Light, E. and Lebonitz, B.D. (Eds.), Abheimer's disease treatment and family stress: directions for research (pp. 2–49). Washington, DC: National Institute of Mental Health.Google Scholar
Brody, E.M., Hoffman, C, Kleban, M.H., & Schoonover, C.B. (1989). Caregiving daughters and their local siblings: Perceptions, strains, and interactions. The Gerontologist, 29(4), 529–538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brubaker, T.H. (1985). Later Life Families. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, Inc.Google Scholar
Cantor, M. (1983). Strain among caregivers: A study of the experience in the United States. The Gerontologist, 26, 597–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caserta, M.S., Lund, D.A., Wright, S.D., & Redburn, D.E. (1987). Caregivers to dementia patients: The utilization of community services. The Gerontologist, 27(2), 209–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chenoweth, B., & Spencer, B. (1986). Dementia: The experience of family caregivers. The Gerontologist, 26(3), 267–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, D., & Eisdorfer, C. (1988). Depression in family members caring for a relative with AD. Journal of the American Gerontological Society, 36(10), 885–889.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connidis, I.A. (1989). Family Ties and Aging. Toronto: Butterworths Canada Ltd.Google Scholar
Dressel, P.L., & Clark, A. (1990) A critical look at family care. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 769–782.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dwyer, J.W., & Seccombe, K. (1991). Elder care as family labor: The influence of gender and family position. Journal of Family Issues, 12(2), 229–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finch, J. (1987). Family ties. New Society, March, 16–18.Google Scholar
Finch, J., & Groves, D. (1980). Community care and the family: A case for equal opportunities? Journal of Social Policy, 9, 487–511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finch, J., & Mason, J. (1990). Filial obligations and kin support for elderly people. Ageing and Society, 10, 151–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischer, L., Visintainer, P. F., & Shultz, R. (1989). Reliable assessment of cognitive impairment in dementia patients by family caregivers. The Gerontologist, 29(3), 333–335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
George, L.K., & Gwyther, L.P. (1986). Caregiver well-being: A multidimensional examination of family caregivers of demented adults. The Gerontologist, 26(3), 253–259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Given, C.W., Collins, C.E., & Given, B.A. (1988). Sources of stress among families caring for relatives with Alzheimer's Disease. Nursing Clinics of North America, 23(1), 69–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gottlieb, B.H. (1991). Social support and family care of the elderly. Canadian Journal on Aging, 20(4), 359–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gubrium, J. (1988). Family responsibility and caregiving in the qualitative analysis of the Alzheimer's disease experience. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 197–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansson, R.O., Nelson, R.E., Carver, M.D., Nee Smith, D.H., Dowling, E.M., Fletcher, W.L., & Suhr, P. (1990). Adult children with frail elderly parents: When to intervene? Family Relations, 39, 153–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horowitz, A. (1985). Family caregiving to the frail elderly. In Eisdorfer, C., Lawton, M. and Maddox, G. (Eds.), Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Volume 5 (pp. 194–246). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Johnson, C.L., & Catalano, D. (1983). A longitudinal study of family supports to impaired elderly. The Gerontologist, 23(6), 612–618.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, D., & Vetter, N. (1984). A survey of those who care for the elderly at home: Their problems and their needs. Social Science and Medicine, 19(5), 511–514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keating, N. (1991). Aging in Rural Canada. Toronto: Butterworths Canada Ltd.Google Scholar
Kuhlman, G.J., Wilson, H.S., Hutchinson, S., & Wallhagen, M. (1991). Alzheimer's disease and family caregiving: Critical synthesis of the literature and research agenda. Nursing Research, 40(6), 331–337.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lerner, M., Somers, D., Reid, D., Chiriboga, D., & Tierney, M. (1991). Adult children as caregivers: egocentric biases in judgements of sibling contributions. The Gerontologist, 32(6), 746–755.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Litwin, H., & Auslander, G.K. (1990). Evaluating informal support. Evaluation Review, 14(1), 42–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, S.H. (1987). Provision of care to old parents: Division of responsibility among adult children. Research on Aging, 9(1), 45–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matthews, S.H., & Rosner, T. (1988). Shared filial responsibility: The family as the primary caregiver. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 185–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDaniel, S. (1992). Bridges and frontiers: Families, women and work in an aging Canada. Paper presented at the Canadian Association on Gerontology Conference, Edmonton, Alberta, 1992.Google Scholar
McPherson, , (1990). Aging as a Social Process. Toronto: Butterworths Canada, Ltd.Google Scholar
Morgan, D. (1989). Adjusting to widowhood: Do social networks really make it easier? The Gerontologist, 29(1), 101–107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mui, A. (1992). Caregiver strain among black and white daughter caregivers: A role theory perspective. The Gerontologist, 32(2), 203–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Myles, J. (1991). Women, the welfare state and care-giving. Canadian Journal on Aging, 10(2), 82–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pett, M.A., Caserta, M.S., Hutton, A.P., & Lund, D.A. (1988). Intergenerational conflict: Middle-aged women caring for demented older relatives. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 58(3), 405–417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pruchno, R.A., & Resch, N.L. (1989). Husbands and wives as caregivers: Antecedents of depression and burden. The Gerontologist, 29(2), 159–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Qureshi, H. (1990). A research note on the hierarchy of obligations among informal carers-A response to Finch and Mason. Aging and Society, 10, 455–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qureshi, H., & Walker, A. (1989). The caring relationship: Elderly people and their families. London: Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rank, M. (1992). Combined qualitative and quantitative approaches. In Gilgun, J., Daly, K., & Handel, G. (Eds.), Qualitative methods in family research (pp. 281–300). Newbury Park: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Roberts, R.E.L., Richards, L.N., & Bengtson, V.L. (1991). Intergenerational solidarity in families: Untangling the ties that bind. Family and Marriage Review, 16, 11–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmall, V.L., & Pratt, C.C. (1989). Family caregiving and aging: Strategies for support. In Hugston, G.A., Christopherson, V.A., and Bonjean, M.J. (Eds.), Aging and family therapy: Practitioner perspectives on golden pond (pp. 71–87). New York: The Haworth Press, Inc.Google Scholar
Shapiro, E., & Tate, R.B. (1985). Predictors of long term care facility use among the elderly. Canadian Journal on Aging, 4(1), 11–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, R. (1991). Defining family caregivers of the elderly: Implications for research and public policy. The Gerontologist, 31(6), 724–725.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stone, R., Cafferata, G.L., & Sangl, J. (1987). Caregivers of the frail elderly: A national profile. The Gerontologist, 27(5), 616–626.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Storm, C., Storm, T., & Strike-Schurman, J. (1985). Obligations for care: Beliefs in a small Canadian town. Canadian Journal on Aging, 4(2), 75–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tennstedt, S.L., McKinley, J.B., & Sullivan, L.M. (1989). Informal care for frail elders: The role of secondary caregivers. The Gerontologist, 29(5), 677–683.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walker, A. (1991). The relationship between family and the state in the care of older people. Canadian Journal on Aging, 10(2), 94–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenger, C. (1987). Dependence, interdependence, and reciprocity after eighty. Journal of Aging Studies, 1(4), 355–377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Willoughby, J., & Keating, N. (1991). Being in control: The process of caring for a relative with Alzheimer's Disease. Qualitative Health Research, 1(1), 27–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, S.H. (1989). Family caregivers: The experience of Alzheimer's disease. Applied Nursing Research, 2(1), 40–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed