Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-xtgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T23:02:23.203Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Role of Adult Children in Helping Chronically Ill Hospitalized Parents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Barry L. Hall
Barry L. Hall
Affiliation:
The University of Calgary
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The study identified the types of help provided by 27 adult children to their hospitalized chronically ill parents. The investigation further examined the child's helping behavior in relation to stress and strain, as well as dependence of the parent on the child. The results demonstrated that despite profound stress and strain felt by children, they still provided a range of helping behaviors within the formal caregiving structures of the acute care hospital. Dependence was a weak indicator of the adult child's helping behavior, while stress was a stronger indicator.

Résumé

Cette étude identifie les types de services que 27 adultes enfants offrent à leurs parents hospitalisés pour maladies chroniques. De plus, l'étude examine le comportement obligeant de l'enfant relativement aux pressions, à la tension, ainsi que la dépendance du parent à l'égard de l'enfant. Selon les résultats, les enfants continuent d'offrir une variété de services à l'intérieur des structures formelles de centres hospitaliers à soins actifs et ce en dépit des énormes pressions qu'ils ressentent. La dépendance s'avère un faible indicateur du comportement obligeant de l'adulte enfant, tandis que le stress est un indicateur plus prononcé.

Keywords

agingcaregivingfamily relationshipschronic illness.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , Spring/printemps 1989 , pp. 68 - 78
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1989

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

REFERENCES

Adams, B.N. (1967). Interaction theory and social network. Sociomelty, 30, 64–78.Google ScholarPubMed
Arey, Sandra, and Warheit George, J. (1980). Psychosocial costs of living with psychologically disturbed family members. In Lee, N., Rubino, Paula J.Clayton, J., and Wind, K. (Eds.) The Sodai Consequences of Psychiatric Illness. New York: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
Atchley, Robert C. (1972). The Social Forces in Later Life, an Introduction to Social Gerontology. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Co. Inc.Google Scholar
Blenkner, Margaret. (1965). Social work and family relations in later life with some thoughts on filial maturity. In Shantas, Ethel and Streib, Gordon F. (Eds.). Social Structure and the Family: Generational Relations. Englewood Cliffs N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.Google Scholar
Brody, E.M. (1970). Congregate care facilities and mental health of the elderly. Aging and Human Development, 4, 279–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicirelli, V.G. (1981). Helping Elderly Parents-The Role of Adult Children. Boston, Mass.: Auburn House Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Dean, A., Lin, N., and Ensel, W.M. (1981). The epidemiological significance of social support systems in depression. In Simmons, R.G. (Ed.). Research in Community Mental Health. Greenwich, CT: JAL Press.Google Scholar
Emerson, R. (1976). Social exchange theory. In Inkeles, A. (Ed.). Annual Review of Sociology. Palo Alto. Calif.: Annual Review, Inc.Google Scholar
Golan, Naomi. (1981). Passing Through Transitions: A Guide for Practitioners. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Houseman, Carol Popky. (1979). Short term counselling groups for people with elderly parents. The Gerontologist, 19, 102–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kerson, Toba Schwaber. (1985). Understanding Chronic Illness: The Medical and Psychosocial Dimensions of Nine Diseases. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Miller, Dorothy A. (1981). The “sandwich” generation: Adult children of the aging. Social Casework, 419–423.Google Scholar
Montgomery, R.J., Gonyea, J.G., and Hooyman, N.R. (1985). Caregiving and the experience of subjective and objective burden. Family Relations, 34, 19–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neugarten, B.L. (1968). The awareness of middle age. InNeugarten, B.L. (Ed.). Middle Age and Aging. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Pincus, A. and Minaban, A. (1973). Social Work Practice: Model and Method. Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock.Google Scholar
Rosow, Irving. (1965). Intergenerational relationships: problems and proposals. In Shanas, Ediel and Streib, Gordon F. (Eds.). Social Structure and the Family: Generational Relations. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Inc.Google Scholar
Simos, Bertha. (1973). Adult children and dieir aging parents. Social Work, 78–85.Google Scholar
Sively, P., and Fiegner, J. (1984). Family caregivers of the elderly. Assistance provided after termination of chore services. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 8, 23–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, Russel A. (1978). Limitations of the family as a supportive institution in the lives of the aged. The Family Coordinator, 27, 365–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar