Providing Care for Elderly Parents

A Structurational Approach to Family Caregiver Identity

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12755446
AutoresKatherine Miller (0000-0002-6726-2369, Texas A&M University, autor correspondente), Martha Shoemaker (Mitchell Institute), Jennifer Willyard (Texas A&M University), Penny Addison (Mitchell Institute)
Ano2008
Volume8
Fascículo1
Páginas19-43
Data de publicação2008-01-15
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Family Communication (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1526-7431 • E-ISSN: 1532-7698
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15267430701389947
OpenAlexW2074054285
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas51

Because of expanding life spans and the increasingly chronic nature of disease, caregiving is becoming a dominant activity in today's society. Caregiving for elderly parents has been identified as a complex activity involving the balancing of many tasks and roles, and an activity that has the potential for both intense stress and for psychological and relational rewards. In this study, we consider the complexity of caregiving by examining the identity and identification processes of family caregivers. Taking a structurational approach to identity and identification, we examine in-depth interviews with 11 caregivers of elderly parents. The narratives and comments provided by these caregivers led us to the consideration of two major structures influencing the identity of family caregivers: structures of parenting and structures of competence. We explore the nature of these structures in terms of the ways they are adapted and transformed in the identification of caregivers and the way they influence rewards and stresses in the caregiving role. Our analyses point to complex adaptations of these private (family) and public (competence) structures, and to both functional and dysfunctional transformations of these structures in the caregiving role. Notes 1Pseudonyms are used throughout in identifying caregiver respondents in our research. 2Although there is significant research on the intersection of gender and caregiving (e.g.,CitationIngersoll-Dayton, Starrels, & Dowler, 1996), given the emphasis in the current research, we will not provide a specific focus on this research. Instead, we will consider issues of gender as they are relevant to our discussion of caregiver activities, outcomes, and identity. 3Much of the extant research on caregiving uses the classic concept of "role" and considers related issues such as role conflict (e.g., between work and family spheres) and role ambiguity. In our literature review, we refer to the concept of role when it is appropriate given the research under discussion. However, in the study we report on here, we will shift our emphasis to the notion of identity, following the argument ofCitationKirby, Golden, Medved, Jorgenson, and Buzzanell (2005) that the concept of "role" is often construed in mechanistic ways, while the concept of "identity" is typically associated with a more fluid, social constructionist position. 4All research procedures were approved by the University's Institutional Review Board

Art · Developmental psychology · Identity (music · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Family Support in Illness · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology · Gerontology