Filial Responsibility and Transitions Involved: A Qualitative Exploration of Caregiving Daughters and Frail Mothers

One of the consequences of an aging society is the growing need for caregivers to the increasing number of frail older persons. This study is a qualitative examination of filial responsibility between caregiving daughters and frail mothers. It explores filial expectations and motivations and how incongruencies are met and negotiated. Twenty-two women (eleven caregiving dyads) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Employing the grounded theory methodology, interviews were analyzed both individually and dyadically for content and themes. What emerged from the analysis was a grounded theory framework of four intrapsychic caregiving and care-receiving transitions: (1) Realizing I am a Caregiver/Care-receiver; (2) Defining the Caregiver/Care-receiver Roles; (3) Redefining the Caregiving Relationship; and (4) Relationship Acceptance. The transitions identified here comprise a loose framework influenced by different levels of filial responsibility—personal, parental, family, and religious. In addition to the four transitions, one overarching theme called “Emotional Responses to Informal Caregiving and Care-receiving” was evident throughout the findings. Findings from this research provide a framework for understanding the often unclear transitions that daughters and mothers believe they go through. Research implications are discussed for researchers, therapists, caregiving support group leaders, and women who are contemplating or confronted with filial responsibility.     

BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES ABOUT SEXUAL AGGRESSION

This study investigated the correspondence between parents' and daughters' beliefs about sexual aggression and gender roles. The relationship between a woman's attitudes and her personal experiences with sexual victimization was also examined. The participants were 236 female undergraduates, 148 mothers, and 110 fathers. One hundred-three matching triads were collected. Participants evaluated victim responsibility for written scenarios depicting a date-rape victim. Information about gender-role attitudes, perceived family communication, and previous sexual experiences was also collected. Results indicated that daughter–mother, daughter–father, and mother–father dyads shared attitudes about gender roles and beliefs about victim responsibility. Parental attitudes also predicted daughters' attitudes, but family communication did not moderate the relationship between parental attitudes and daughters' attitudes. Mothers' and daughters' experiences of coerced sex were not associated. A relationship between attitudes and beliefs and experiences of coerced sex emerged only for mothers. Mothers with a history of coerced sex adhered to more traditional gender-role attitudes and assigned more responsibility to the date-rape victim. The need for further research in the area of familial attitudes about rape is discussed.     

Role of siblings in adult daughters' anticipation of caregiving

Despite extensive research regarding adult daughters' experiences as caregivers to aging parents, little attention has been paid to how adult daughters anticipate future caregiving roles. The current study examines the impact of sibling networks on the caregiving anticipation of 103 adult daughters. Factors influencing the expectation and amount of support adult daughters anticipate include daughters' birth order and proximity to their mothers. Characteristics of the sibling networks, including percentage of sisters within the family, are also important to care anticipation.     

Involving caregiving grandmothers in family interventions when mothers with substance use problems are incarcerated

The alarming rate of incarceration of women disproportionately affects women of color, frequently intersects with the women's substance use problems, and often results in grandmothers providing care for their grandchildren during their daughters' incarceration. Numerous factors complicate the grandmothers' caregiving experiences and contribute to strains that exceed those typically associated with grandparent caregiving. Such complicating factors include the stresses associated with their daughters' substance use problems and incarceration; the complex biopsychosocial needs of many of their grandchildren; the challenging relational issues they must address; and often, the long-term, multifaceted effects of poverty. Despite the critical roles they play, the multiple vulnerabilities they face, and the potential for multigenerational, culturally relevant family interventions to yield gains for all three generations, grandmothers have received little attention in intervention research with this group of families. This paper provides a theoretical and empirical rationale for the inclusion of caregiving grandmothers in interventions and research with families affected by maternal incarceration and substance use problems, in general, and for the promise of multifamily groups, in particular. Strategies for tailoring multifamily groups with this population of families are also included.     

Intergenerational connection of sexism: influence of family variables

The purpose of this study is three-fold: 1) to analyze the relations between parents' hostile sexism (HS), benevolent sexism (BS), and ambivalent sexism (AS) and that of their sons-daughters; 2) to study the relation between the mothers' and the fathers' sexism; and 3) to appraise whether the family socio-economic level-cultural is related to sexism. The sample included 2,867 participants, 1,455 adolescents (768 girls, 687 boys) and their parents (764 mothers, 648 fathers). The results revealed positive correlations between the mothers' sexism (HS-BS-AS) and the BS of their sons, and with the HS, BS, and AS of their daughters. Positive correlations were found between the fathers' sexism (BS-AS) and their sons' sexism (HS-BS-AS-Neosexism); however, no relation was found with their daughters' sexism. The intergenerational connection of sexism in the family was confirmed: from mothers to sons and daughters and from fathers to sons. The mother emerged as a very influential figure, although a higher connection was confirmed between the mothers' and the daughters' sexism and between the fathers' and the sons' sexism. Positive correlations were also found between both parents' sexism, and negative correlations between the socio-economic-cultural level of the family and sexism in the parents and in the adolescents.     

Maternal influences on daughters' restrained eating behavior.

This study examined whether mothers' preoccupation with their own weight and eating was linked to daughters' restrained eating behavior. Participants included 173 non-Hispanic, White mother-daughter dyads, measured longitudinally when daughters were ages 5, 7, 9, and 11. Mothers who were preoccupied with their own weight and eating reported higher levels of restricting daughters' intake and encouraging daughters to lose weight over time. Mothers' encouragement of daughters' weight loss was linked to daughters' restrained eating behavior; this relationship was partially mediated by daughters' perception of maternal pressure to lose weight. These findings suggest that mothers' preoccupation with weight and eating, via attempts to influence daughters' weight and eating, may place daughters at risk for developing problematic eating behaviors.     

Intergenerational effects of the Holocaust: patterns of engagement in the mother-daughter relationship

The present study explored the quality of engagement between mothers and adult daughters. Daughters of Holocaust survivors, European immigrants, and nonimmigrants were compared on mothers' protectiveness and care during their daughters' first 16 years, and on daughters' individuation from the family of origin. The survivor group perceived themselves as less individuated from both their parents than the other two groups. However, daughters in the three groups reported feeling equally intimate with their parents. There were no significant group differences found on intergenerational intimidation or competing loyalties. There was a tendency for mothers in the survivor group to be perceived as more indulgently protective. These findings suggest that the relationship between survivor mothers and their daughters may be characterized by a lower degree of individuation, though not at the cost of intimacy.     

Recalled early maternal bonding and mother‐ and self‐related attitudes in young adult daughters: A cross‐cultural study in India and Belgium

The quality of child–parent relationships remains a vital aspect of development through the entire life span. Early childhood attachment develops into a lasting adult attachment bond in which the balance between caregiving and care‐receiving changes over time. Among young adult women a model was examined on the relationship of recalled early maternal bonding with (1) the current relationship with one's mother represented by variables such as adult attachment, filial responsibility and filial concern, and (2) self‐related attitudes represented by orientation to life and satisfaction with life. Participants were female university students from two quite different societies, India and Belgium, including 150 Hindi‐speaking and 150 English‐speaking students in India and 183 Dutch‐speaking students in Belgium. Instruments used were the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Adult Attachment Scale, a self‐constructed Filial Responsibility Scale, the Filial Anxiety Scale, the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Across the three languages and two cultures we first tested the construct/structural equivalence of the scales by means of exploratory factor analysis and congruence analysis. Results indicated that psychometric conditions of equivalence held for most instruments. In order to examine relationships between the variables, a LISREL path analysis was conducted across the three samples. A model closely similar to the theoretically postulated model was found to show a good fit with invariant parameters in the three samples. As expected, recalled early maternal bonding of young adult women appeared to have an impact on the current relationship with their mother and on aspects of their personal life experiences. Thus, the influence of recalled early maternal bonding on variables reflecting the relationship with one's mother and on self‐related variables were brought together in a single model that showed a good fit in all three samples.     

Mothers' representations of caregiving and their adult children's representations of attachment: intergenerational concordance and relations to beliefs about mothering

Mothers (N= 35) and their adult children completed questionnaires and were interviewed in order to examine relationships between mothers' caregiving representations and their adult children's attachment representations, and relationships between attachment/caregiving representations and beliefs about mothering. Mothers' and their children's accounts of and present thinking about their past relationship were highly similar, indicating that the two parts develop concordant states of mind regarding their relationship. In contrast, there was no relationship between mothers' and their adult children's beliefs about mothering, suggesting that such beliefs are not simply passed on from generation to generation within families. Attachment/caregiving classification interacted with generation in influencing a belief that biological facts determine maternal behavior, young adults with preoccupied attachment being particularly prone to reject this idea. Attachment/caregiving classification also had a significant effect on participants' tendency to adhere to an idealized conception of mothering, this tendency being associated with a dismissive attachment/caregiving representation.     

Body Dissatisfaction in College Women and Their Mothers: Cohort Effects, Developmental Effects, and the Influences of Body Size, Sexism, and the Thin Body Ideal

A study of body dissatisfaction, as measured by the Figure Rating Scale (Stunkard, Sorenson, & Schlusinger, 1983) and the Body Esteem Scale (Franzoi & Shields, 1984), in 75 college women and their mothers indicated that both daughters and mothers experienced body dissatisfaction. When body size was statistically controlled, either no difference was found between the groups or daughters were found to have greater body dissatisfaction than mothers. The results supported the hypotheses that (1) there are generational differences in body dissatisfaction, (2) both cohort and developmental effects contribute to these differences, and (3) that a developmental effect (mothers' greater body size) may obscure a cohort effect (daughters' greater exposure to the thin body ideal). Body dissatisfaction measures based on the mothers' retrospective ratings of how they felt at their daughters' age were consistent with these hypotheses. Relationships between body dissatisfaction and the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire (Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer, 1995) were stronger and more frequent for daughters than for mothers and for the Internalization Scale than for the Awareness Scale. Relationships between the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 2001) and body dissatisfaction were stronger for mothers than for daughters and for Benevolent Sexism than for Hostile Sexism.     

Family Members' Retrospective Perceptions of Intrafamilial Relationships

Parents and daughters in 21 families of women with borderline personality disorder (BPD), 23 women with restricting anorexia nervosa (AN), and 25 women without clinical histories (NC) responded to the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Beavers Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI). On the PBI, BPD daughters' perceptions differed from both their parents' whereas AN daughters' perceptions differed from their mothers'. On the SFI, both groups reported less family health than their parents. On both instruments, nonclinical daughters' perceptions were congruent with the parents'. These findings have implications for researchers and therapists for integrating and utilizing the varying perceptions of family members.     

Perceptions of parenting behavior and young women's gender role traits and preferences

This study examines the effect of perceptions of mothers' and fathers' parenting behavior on their college-aged daughter's gender role development. Unlike in previous studies, in this analysis we consider both the gender role traits of young females (their instrumentality and expressiveness) and their gender role preferences (modernity vs. traditionalism) simultaneously. Three alternative empirical models are tested with data from 163 randomly selected college-aged females using analysis of covariance structures in LISREL VII. Findings substantiated the hypothesis that perceptions of earlier parenting behavior exert a substantial influence on gender role developments of children, particularly regarding mothers' influence on the instrumentality and expressiveness of their daughters. Mothers' parenting, measured along the dimensions of encouragement and control, was generally more strongly related to their daughters' gender role traits than was fathers'. Little influence of parenting behavior on daughters' gender role preferences was found.The authors wish to acknowledge Dr. Hyman Rodman for his comments on earlier drafts of this paper.     

Caregiver behavior in center and family day care

In an effort to examine relationships between variations within day care settings and adult caregiving behaviors the social experiences of 40 toddlers and their caregivers in family and center care were systematically observed. Caregivers were interviewed and conditions of caregiving recorded. Caregivers in both settings with fewer children in their care, who worked shorter hours, with less housework responsibilities engaged in more facilitative social stimulation, expressed more positive affect, were more responsive, and less restrictive and negative. Family day care caregivers who worked in spaces specifically designed to be safe and appropriate for children were less restrictive of toddler activity. Adult-child ratio and caregiver training appeared to be the best indicators of quality care in center day care, while a safe and appropriate caregiving environment and small groups appeared as quality indicators in family day care.     

Attachment and spousal caregiving

A community sample of 362 married couples participated in a study of attachment and spousal caregiving, which combined qualitative and quantitative components. The qualitative component focused on actual experiences of caregiving, assessed by participants' semi‐structured accounts of a situation involving their role as caregiver for their spouse. Attachment styles and their underlying dimensions (comfort with closeness, anxiety over relationships) were related to the type of support provided, the coping strategies used in the situation, caregivers' feelings about the quality of their care, perceived effects on the couple bond, and the emotional tone of the accounts. The quantitative component tested a theoretical model of factors predicting willingness to provide care for the spouse if he or she should become dependent in later life. Measures of attachment and caregiving styles, attachment to spouse, and anticipated burden provided reliable prediction of willingness to care. The results support the conceptualization of attachment and caregiving as interrelated features of marital bonds, and they have important implications for patterns of family caregiving.     

Loneliness among school-aged children and their parents

The aim of this study was to examine the existence of the intergenerational transmission of loneliness between parents and children, including an examination of its stability and of gender differences. The study consisted of an evaluation of loneliness in mothers ( n = 834), fathers ( n = 661) and their 10-year-old children ( n = 981). Parent's self-reported loneliness was measured once, and their children's social and emotional loneliness were assessed at three time-points. The stability analysis indicated average stability in children's loneliness, especially their social loneliness. Boys were found to experience more emotional loneliness than girls. Structural equation modeling indicated no direct relationship between mothers'/fathers' loneliness and their children's loneliness. However, mothers' and fathers' loneliness reduced their daughters' peer-evaluated cooperating skills, which consequently predicted higher levels of both social and emotional loneliness.     

Sandwich Generation Caregiving: A Complex and Dynamic Role

The overall purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of sandwich generation (SG) women and the influence multigenerational caregiving had on their health behaviors. The specific purpose of this paper was to examine the roles of SG women, whom are individuals providing care to both their aging parents/in-laws and children (Sinha, Spotlight on Canadians: Results from the General Social Survey: Portrait of caregivers, 2012. Statistics Canada catalogue no. 89-652-X – No. 001, Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division, Ottawa, Ontario, 2013). This study was qualitative in nature and utilized the theoretical orientation of phenomenology. Nine SG women completed a background questionnaire and a semi-structured one-on-one interview. After critically analyzing the data, four salient themes emerged, however, this paper only focused on the theme the role of the caregiver. Five subthemes were developed from this theme: (1) Physical care; (2) “Sounding board”: Emotional aspects of caregiving; (3) Never enough time in the day; (4) Am I a caregiver to my children?; and (5) Transitions and variations in caregiving. These findings provide an in-depth understanding of the role of SG women and the complexities that occur when faced with caregiving. This study hopes to provide more knowledge to support government legislation, sandwich generation caregivers, and healthcare providers.     

"AND YOU'RE TELLING ME NOT TO STRESS?" A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS AMONG LOW-INCOME MOTHERS

Low-income mothers in the U.S. are more likely to experience postpartum depression (PPD) and less likely to seek treatment than their middle-class counterparts. Despite this knowledge, prior research has not provided an in-depth understanding of PPD symptoms as they are experienced by low-income mothers. Through in-depth interviews, this study investigated low-income mothers' ( n  = 19) experiences and explanatory frameworks for their PPD symptoms. Grounded theory analysis uncovered five main categories that linked the participants' PPD symptoms to their lived experiences of mothering in poverty, including: (1) ambivalence, (2) caregiving overload, (3) juggling, (4) mothering alone, and (5) real-life worry. The analysis further located the core experience of PPD for low-income mothers as "feeling overwhelmed" due to mothering in materially and socially stressful conditions. These findings challenge the prevailing biomedical discourse surrounding PPD and situate mothers' symptoms in the context of the material hardships associated with living in poverty.     

Parental socialization styles, parents' educational level, and sexist attitudes in adolescence

The aims of this study were to analyze the differences in the mothers' and fathers' socialization styles depending on their children's sex; whether there are differences in hostile, benevolent, and ambivalent sexism, and neosexism as a function of both parents' socialization styles; and whether the parents' educational level affects their level of sexism and their children's sexism. The sample included 1,455 adolescents and their parents (764 mothers and 648 fathers). The results showed no differences in the socialization style of the father with his children's sexism, but the mother used a more authoritarian style with her daughters. The parents' socialization style had little influence on their children's sexism, although it had a higher impact on the sons' sexism. The father's style had less influence than the mother's on their sons' sexism, and it had no influence on their daughters' sexism. The indulgent style of both parents had the highest relation with a low level of sexism. Moreover, a negative correlation was found between the parents' educational level and their level of sexism, as well as between the mother's educational level and her daughters' sexism. To conclude, the indulgent style and the mother's high educational level promote fewer sexist attitudes.