The biennial University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, which recently analyzed more than 26,000 Americans over age 50, uncovered some interesting statistics concerning adults' care of their older parents. According to the study, which was presented at the American Sociological Association's annual meeting this month, daughters provide an average of 12.3 hours of parent care per month, while sons provide an average of 5.6 hours.
The disparity has sparked heated conversations online, and provided interesting insight into how Americans are preparing for and providing care for their parents as they age. Angelina Grigoryeva, a doctoral student in sociology at Princeton University and lead author of the study, explained that the analysis should be viewed as a snapshot of American older adult care habits, and not a comprehensive portrait of care.
"Most elder care in the United States is provided at home, by family members, with adult children being the first line of defense if the spouse is not available," Grigoryeva explained to Heidi Stevens of the Chicago Tribune in an interview. This reflects this blog's previous findings of the majority of older adults preferring aging in place. However, many were surprised to learn that the daughters provide roughly twice the amount of care as their male siblings. In fact, the gender divide in care is even greater than that for housework or child care.
The study also found that age does not have as much impact on which sibling provides the higher level of care, which "suggests that caregiving responsibilities are assigned by gender," according to Grigoryeva.
So what is keeping sons from participating more actively in the care of their older parents? Grigoryeva points out that while caregiving can result in significant emotional rewards, and perhaps economic rewards in the form of a greater share of inheritance, it can also pressure many caregivers to give up their career and therefore, income.
As more older adults decide to age in place, their children must decide how best to accommodate this preference while making sure their own needs are also met. This decision can vary widely depending on the parent's current health and the level of assistance they will require with the activities of daily living. Grigoryeva urged siblings to work out arrangements that share the responsibility. "Brothers (may) be more responsive when they are asked to help with administrative tasks or home repairs, rather than when they are asked to help with dressing the parent," she wrote in her report.
However, with recent advancements in elderly care technology, children may soon find that taking care of their parents as they age may not mean sacrificing their career or hiring a full-time caretaker.
Independa's caregiving solutions provide are designed to benefit both the caretaker and care recipient enjoy greater freedom without sacrificing the quality of care. Our Integrated CloudCare platform is a telecare and social engagement solution that assists older adults in their desire to age in place. The friendly, simple user interface Angela offers care recipients effortless access to video chat, medication reminders, stimulating games and much more, all with larger screen fonts, higher contrast and brighter colors geared to the needs of the elderly.
