Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T06:00:46.808Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Family Caregiving or Caregiving Alone: Who Helps the Helper?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Joanie Sims-Gould  and
Anne Martin-Matthews
Joanie Sims-Gould*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Anne Martin-Matthews
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to:/Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à : Joanie Sims-Gould, MSW, Ph.D., School of Social Work and Family Studies, University of British Columbia, 2080 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2. (simsg@interchange.ubc.ca)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study advances the understanding of family caregiving by examining the relationship between adult children caregivers and their helpers. Specifically, it focuses on examining “who helps whom” and extends analyses beyond the dyadic focus of caregiving in later life. The focus on helping and caregiving addresses the variety of contributions and responsibilities involving not only the caregiver who was the target respondent in this research, but also others identified as helpers in the provision of care.

The data for this study are derived from the Work and Eldercare Research group of CARNET: The Canadian Aging Research Network. Secondary analysis of CARNET data focuses on data collected from 250 individuals with significant caregiving responsibilities for at least one older person. Findings extend Kahn & Antonucci's convoys of social support model (1981) and Cantor's model of social care (1991) by disentangling some of the dimensions of helping and caregiving, such as the distinction between direct and assistive help.

Résumé

l'étude creuse la question de la prestation des soins familiaux en examinant la relation entre l'enfant adulte dispensateur de soins et ses aidants. Elle se penche plus précisément sur la question «Qui aidea qui ?» et fait déborder l'analyse de la dynamique diadique de la prestation de soins au troisième âge. En s'attardant sur l'aide et la dispensation de soins, l'étude aborde les diverses formes d'apport et de responsabilité concernant non seulement le «dispensateur de soins», répondant «cible» de la recherche, mais également les personnes regroupées sous le vocable «aidantes». Les données qui font l'objet de la présente étude proviennent du groupe de recherche sur le travail et les aînés de CARNET : le Réseau canadien de recherche sur le vieillissement. l'analyse secondaire de CARNET est centrée sur les données concernant 250personnes assumant de grandes responsabilités en prestation de soins familiaux auprès d'au moins une personne âgée. Les constatations permettent d'étoffer le modèle de convois de soutien social de Kahn et Antonucci (1981), et le modèle des soins sociaux de Cantor (1991) en démêlant les écheveaux de l'aide et de la prestation de soins, notamment en distinguant l'aide directe de l'aide de soutien.

Keywords

agingcaregivinghelpingfamily relationships and contributionsvieillissementprestation des soins familiauxaiderelations familiales et apport
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 26 , Issue S1: Hidden Costs/Invisible Contributions of Caregiving / Coûts cachés et contributions invisibles des soins , Winter/Hiver 2007 , pp. 27 - 45
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2007

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., Nelson, M.K. (1990). Circle of care: An introductory essay. In Abel, E.K., & Nelson, M.K.. (Eds.), Circles of care: Work and identity in women's lives (p. 434). New York: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Allen, K.R., Blieszner, R., & Roberto, K.A. (2000). Families in the middle and later years: A review and critique of research in the 1990's. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 62(4), 911–927.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, K.R., & Walker, A.J. (1992). Attentive love: A feminist perspective on the caregiving of adult daughters. Family Relations, 41(3), 284–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Antonucci, T.C. (1990). Social supports and social relationships. In Binstock, R.H., & George, L.K. (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (3rd ed.). (pp. 205–227). San Diego: Academic.Google Scholar
Antonucci, T.C., Akiyama, H. (1995). Convoys of social relations: Family and friendships within a life span context. In Bleiszner, R., & Bedford, V.H. (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the family (pp. 355–371). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Aronson, J. (1992). Are we really listening? Beyond the official discourse on needs of old people. Canadian Social Work Review, 9(1), 73–87.Google Scholar
Bengtson, V.L., Allen, K.R. (1993). The life course perspective applied to families over time. In Boss, P.G., Doherty, W.J., LaRossa, R., Schumm, W.R., & Steinmetz, S.K. (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theories and methods: A contextual approach (pp. 469–499). New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boss, P. (2005). Foreword. In Bengtson, V.L., Acock, A.C., Allen, K.R., Dilworth-Anderson, P., & Klein, D.M. (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theory & research (pp. xv–xvi). Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Bubolz, M.M., Sontag, S.M. (1993). Human ecology theory. In Boss, P.G., Doherty, W.J., LaRossa, R., Schumm, W.R., & Steinmetz, S.K. (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theories and methods: A contextual approach (pp. 419–448). New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, L.D., & Martin-Matthews, A. (2000). Primary and proximate. Journal of Family Issues, 21(8), 1006–1030.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, L.D., & Martin-Matthews, A. (2003). The gendered nature of men's filial care. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 58B(6), S350–S358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cantor, M.H. (1979). Neighbors and friends: An overlooked resource in the informal support system. Research on Aging, 1(4), 434–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cantor, M.H. (1991). Family and community: Changing roles in an aging society. Gerontologist, 31(3), 337–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connidis, I.A. (2001). Family ties & aging. Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Crocker Houde, S. (2002). Methodological issues in male caregiver research: An integrative review of the literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 40(6), 626–640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dupuis, S.L., & Norris, J.E. (1997). A multidimensional and contextual framework for understanding diverse family members' roles in long-term care facilities. Journal of Aging Studies, 11(4), 297–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fast, J., Keating, N., Otfinowski, P., & Derksen, L. (2004). Characteristics of family/friend care networks of frail seniors. Canadian Journal on Aging, 23(1), 5–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
George, L.K. (1993). Sociological perspectives on life transitions. Annual Review of Sociology, 19(1), 353–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gignac, M., Kelloway, K.E., & Gottlieb, B.H. (1996). The impact of caregiving on employment: A mediational model of work-family conflict. Canadian Journal on Aging, 15(4), 525–542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Globerman, J. (1996). Daughters- and sons-in-laws caring for relatives with Alzheimer's disease. Family Relations, 45(1), 37–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottlieb, B.H., Kelloway, K., & Fraboni, M. (1994). Aspects of eldercare that place employees at risk. Gerontologist, 34(6), 815–821.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guberman, N. (1999). Daughters-in-law as caregivers: How and why do they come to care? Journal of Women & Aging, 11(1), 85–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haines, V.A., & Henderson, L.J. (2002). Targeting social support: A network assessment of the convoy model of social support. Canadian Journal on Aging, 21(2), 243–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hareven, T.K. (1994). Aging and generational relations: A historical and life course perspective. Annual Review of Sociology, 20(1), 437–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hequembourg, A., & Brallier, S. (2005). Gendered stories of parental caregiving among siblings. Journal of Aging Studies, 19(2), 53–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ingersoll-Dayton, B., Neal, M.B., Ha, J., & Hammer, L.B. (2003). Collaboration among siblings providing care for older parents. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 40(3), 51–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahn, R.L., Antonucci, T.C. (1981). Convoys of social support: A life-course approach. In March, J.G., Kiesler, S.B., Morgan, J.N., & Oppenheimer, V.K. (Eds.), Aging: Social change (pp. 383–405). New York: Academic.Google Scholar
Katz, S. (1996). Disciplining old age. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.Google Scholar
Katz, S., Ford, A.B., Moskowitz, R.W., Jackson, B.A., & Jaffee, M.W. (1963). Studies of illness in the aged. The index of ADL: A standardized measure of biological and psychological function. Journal of the American Medical Association, 185, 914–919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keating, N.C., Fast, J.E., Frederick, J., Cranswick, K., & Perrier, C. (1999). Eldercare in Canada: Context, content, and consequences. Ottawa: Minister of Industry, Statistics Canada.Google Scholar
Marshall, V.W., Matthews, S.H., Rosenthal, C.J. (1993). Elusiveness of family life: A challenge for the sociology of aging. In Maddox, G.L., & Powell Lawton, M. (Eds.), Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics: Focus on kinship, aging, and social change (pp. 39–72). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Martin-Matthews, A. (2000). Intergenerational caregiving: How apocalyptic and dominant demographies frame the questions and shape the answers. In Gee, E., & Guttman, G. (Eds.), The overselling population of aging: Apocalyptic demography, intergenerational challenges, and social policy (pp. 64–79). Don Mills: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Martin-Matthews, A. (2004). A long look at later life: The lens of Social Science - A focus on time.. Keynote address, Annual Educational & Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Association of Gerontology, Victoria, B.C.Google Scholar
Matthews, S. (2002). Sisters and brothers/daughters and sons: Meeting the needs of old parents. Bloomington: Unlimited.Google Scholar
Matthews, S., & Rosner, T.T. (1988). Shared filial responsibility: The family as the primary caregiver. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50(1), 185–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milardo, R.M. (1988). Families and social networks: An overview of theory and methodology. In Milardo, R.M. (Ed.), Families and social networks (pp. 13–47). Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Navaie-Waliser, M., Spriggs, A., & Feldman, P.H. (2002). Informal caregiving: Differential experiences by gender. Medical Care, 40(12), 1249–1259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Opie, A. (1994). The instability of the caring body: Gender and caregivers of confused older people. Qualitative Health Research, 4(1), 31–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearlin, L.I., & Skaff, M.M. (1996). Stress and the life course: A paradigmatic alliance. Gerontologist, 36(2), 239–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piercy, K.W. (1998). Theorizing about family caregiving: The role of responsibility. Journal of Marriage & Family, 60(1), 109–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, E.J., Ganong, L.H., Drew, N., & Lanes, T. (2004). A new typology of home care helpers. Gerontologist, 44(6), 750–759.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pyke, K.D., & Bengtson, V.L. (1996). Caring more or less: Individualistic and collectivist systems. Journal of Marriage & Family, 58(2), 379–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarkisian, N., & Gerstel, N. (2004). Explaining the gap in help to parents: The importance of employment. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66(2), 431–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sumsion, T. (1999). Client-centred practice in occupational therapy. London: Churchill Livingstone.Google Scholar
Ungerson, C. (1990). Gender and caring: Work and welfare in Britain and Scandinavia. Hemel Hempstead, UK: Harvester Wheatsheaf.Google Scholar
Walker, A.J., & Pratt, C.C. (1995). Informal caregiving to aging family members: A critical review. Family Relations, 44(4), 402–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warren, C.A.B. (1998). Aging and identity in premodern times. Research on Aging, 20(1), 11–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Withers Osmond, M., Thorne, B. (1993). Feminist theories: The social construction of gender in families and society. In Boss, P.G., Doherty, W.J., LaRossa, R., Schumm, W.R., & Steinmetz, S.K. (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theories and methods: A contextual approach (pp. 591–623). New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar