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In the article, the author discusses the challenges facing family caregivers in the U.S. and the alleged failure by the government to support their needs by citing her experiences in caring for her parents, who both suffered from cancer. Other topics include the lack of information on the various support groups, programs and services offered to vulnerable elders and their caregivers by the government and nonprofit organizations.

Many care leavers share a sense of fragmented or absent memories and a feeling of being abandoned and rootless. In this article I examine how some care leavers in a Danish context attempt to reconstruct fragmented memories and fragile relationships through tangible and creative practices and processes by which memories and relations are created, repaired, strengthened, and shaped. Understanding their engagement with the past as transformative memory-work, and family and kinship as acquired through practice, I describe some of the specific preconditions for care leavers when it comes to memory-making and family formation. Next, I illustrate how care leavers in different ways deal with broken family ties and how their practices and reflections transform their personal history and the way they relate to others and position themselves in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute family stress in this article is defined as the sudden or unexpected onset of moderate to severe discomfort or disequilibrium and feeling of inadequacy among family members in light of perceived insufficient available resources. Historically, there has been some ambivalence about stress—especially acute stress—and family life education. More recently, authors have suggested that the important issue determining appropriateness is not the topic but the approach used by the professionals. Several approaches are presented here that have been used by professionals to help children and families dealing with acute stress. They include care for self, identify acute stress, support caregivers and central figures in social networks, help families understand stress and coping, help adults talk with children, connect families with the familiar, collaborate with other professionals, and advocate for families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to identify the perception of the family caregivers regarding care provided by them and the ESF to the elderly with dementia. This qualitative, analytical and descriptive research was carried out through semi-structured interviews, with five family caregivers users of a primary care facility organized by the ESF, located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The collected material was submitted to the French School of discourse analysis. Analysis of the symptoms that affect the routine and the feelings of the caregiver generate considerable changes. Family history, family coping with difficult situations, and support for backwardness represented by lack of support from other family members and the State intensify care-related problems. Self-abdication, isolation, and negative subjective interpretations are the producers and aggravators of the psychic distress of family caregivers. Despite its limitations, the ESF receives seniors with dementia and caregivers, but it is not considered a reference of care by family caregivers. Family caregivers affirm that what intensifies the challenges of care is the situation of abandonment experienced by them, impacting as subjective dynamics of oppression and self-abdication, leading to conflicts that reflect in the care situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To describe the experience of parents caregiving children with visual impairment (VI), to determine how their quality of life (QoL) is assessed, and to summarize QoL indicators through a review of the literature.Methods: A thematic search through PubMed, PsycINFO, ProQuest and ERIC databases was performed of articles published in English in peer-reviewed journals between 1996 and 2016. Publications were included if they referred to both children or adolescents with VI and their parents, or the family context. The complete selection process disclosed 37 papers suitable for review.Results: Researchers mainly used ad hoc interviews and questionnaires to investigate this topic. Two specific tools, the CarCGQoL (congenital glaucoma) and the OTI (congenital cataract), were identified. Most of the information collected referred to the parents' opinion concerning professional services, their needs and worries, the impact of VI on their emotional well-being and the strategies to assist parents to cope and adjust to the situation.Conclusions: The experience of caring for a child with VI is mainly influenced by psychosocial factors. Information and guidance to understand the child's visual condition are insufficient, and the available resources reinforce concerns of caregivers regarding the child's opportunities, expressed as negative emotional reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Family caregivers play a significant role in the care of cancer patients, especially in their end of life. Identifying and meeting the needs of these caregivers is essential to improving their quality of patient care. This study was conducted to identify the unmet needs of the caregivers of end-of-life cancer patients.Methods: A total of 18 semi-structured interviews were held with the family caregivers of end-of-life cancer patients using purposive sampling. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.Results: The analysis of the data led to the formation of three main categories, including social needs, cognitive needs, and psychological needs. The social needs category comprised of the subcategories of support for care, effective communication and financial support. The cognitive needs category comprised of educational support and support in decision-making. The psychological needs category comprised of support for psychological trauma, preparation to confront the reality of the death of a loved one, and support for mourning.Conclusions: The family caregivers of end-of-life cancer patients take on the responsibility of many aspects of care for their patient, but many of their own needs remain unmet. The findings of this study can be used for healthcare policy planning and the development of palliative interventions, particularly for the family caregivers of end-of-life cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The Alzheimer's Society has culturally adapted an Information Programme for South Asian families (IPSAF) who support an individual living with dementia. The objectives of this evaluation were to establish whether IPSAF had an immediate and medium-term impact on those who attended and how it impacted on the wider family and the person with dementia.Methods: An inclusive, pluralistic approach was adopted. Seven focus groups were conducted with 42 participants, and 37 participated in a pre-post knowledge quiz. Seven family interviews were conducted with 17 participants, and 3 families were followed up after 6 months. Thematic analysis was conducted on the data.Findings: The IPSAF was found to improve participants' knowledge of dementia leading to increased understanding of the person with dementia. Participants became more aware of available services and accessed services to make use of practical support. IPSAF was reported to have an impact for people living with dementia, with carers' newfound understanding resulting in some changes in care practice that promoted empowerment and independence for people living with dementia. There was also some evidence to suggest that IPSAF had an impact on the wider family, with participants sharing information about dementia with family members who had not attended the programme. Families were continuing to make changes to improve the lives of people living with dementia 6 months later, suggesting IPSAF had a sustained impact.Conclusion: This culturally adapted programme was found to have a significant impact on carers, the person with dementia, and the wider family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schizophrenia, a chronic psychiatric disorder, can affect one's productivity and psychosocial functioning. In Indian context, the responsibility of caring persons with schizophrenia is increasingly on their spouses. Spousal caregiver experience and its relation with disability in schizophrenia need to be studied. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 52 outpatients with schizophrenia and their spouses attending a tertiary psychiatric center. The objectives were: (a) to explore spousal caregiver burden in schizophrenia and (b) to assess the relation between disability and spousal caregiver burden. The study adopted recommended ethical principles. Scales such as Burden Assessment Schedule, Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale (IDEAS), and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale were used to collect appropriate data. Descriptive analysis, bivariate analysis, and multivariate analysis were done in SPSS software version 16.0. Results: The mean spousal caregiver burden score was 73.5 (standard deviation: 14.0). In bivariate analysis, disability, duration of schizophrenia, severity of schizophrenia, place of residence, and socioeconomic status had statistically significant relation with spousal caregiver burden. Adjusted for spouses' age, gender, and other significant factors in bivariate analysis, the IDEAS global disability score (2.6, [confidence interval 0.5-3.8, P = 0.013]) retained statistically significant association with spousal caregiver burden. Conclusion: Spouses of persons with schizophrenia experience significant caregiver burden. Disability was found to be the most powerful determinant of spousal caregiver burden in the sample. Focus on disability alleviation in the management of schizophrenia may help reduce spousal caregiver burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the large literature analysing factors related to depression, several factors such as caregiving obligation and the interrelationships among the different variables relating to depression have been little studied. The current study aimed to analyse the effect of caregiving obligation (beliefs regarding obligation and social pressure) on depression, and the mediating effects of perceived burden on the relationship between stressors and depression, in primary caregivers of older relatives.Methods: Cross-sectional study design. A probabilistic sample of caregivers from Spain (N = 200) was used. The data collection was conducted in 2013 through structured interviews in the caregivers' homes. The measures included sense of obligation for caregiving, perceived burden, stressors and depression.Results: Depression had a direct and positive association with perceived burden, behavioural problems, and social pressure, and it was indirectly related through perceived burden to behavioural problems, independence for the activities of daily living and beliefs of obligation.Conclusions: Our results support the multidimensional concept of obligation, suggesting the existence of both an external obligation (social pressure) and an internal obligation (beliefs of obligation); (b) our findings support the hypothesis that external obligation is related to negative caregiving consequences, while internal obligation protects from these consequences; and (c) our findings support the partial mediation of stressors on depression by perceived burden. The relevance of the research to clinical practice includes the importance of understanding the perceived obligation of caregiving related to both internal and external sources of obligation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caregiver-adolescent communication about sex plays a critical role in the sexual socialization of youth. Many caregivers, however, do not engage their youth in such conversations, potentially placing them at risk for negative sexual health outcomes. Lack of caregiver-adolescent communication about sex may be particularly harmful for rural African American youth, as they often report early sex initiation and are disproportionately impacted by STIs. Moreover, sexual communication may be particularly challenging for families with strong religious backgrounds, potentially affecting the occurrence and breadth of topics covered during communication. Study aims were to: determine whether there was a relationship between caregiver religiosity and type of topics covered during communication about sex (e.g., general sexual health vs. positive aspects of sexuality) among 435 caregivers of early adolescent, African American youth; and if so, identify factors that might explain how religiosity affects communication about sex. Results indicated that caregiver religiosity was positively associated with communication about general, but not positive aspects of sexuality for caregivers of males. Attitudes towards communication about sex and open communication style mediated the relationship. There was no association between religiosity and communication about sex for caregivers of females. The findings from this study could provide a base to better understand and support the sexual socialization process within religious, African American families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner abuse (IPA) is a problem that affects millions of women across the United States every year. Traditionally, strategies designed to help victims and reduce IPA have tended to focus on women of childbearing age. However, older women who experience abuse at the hands of male partners are often left out of the conversation. Usually grouped with family violence (which may involve abuse by adult children or other caregivers), elder IPA has received short shrift in the social science and legal literature. This Note explores in depth the unique problem o f IPA among older women, which is often a continuation of the cycle o f abuse begun much earlier in the couple's lives and proposes solutions that include restorative justice, elder-ready domestic violence shelters, and expanded protection under California's Welfare and Institutions Code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caring for dependent relatives has become a normative challenge for families in the USA and throughout the world. The study objective was to examine the relationship of family caregiving responsibilities and the mental health and well-being of individuals, ages 18-24 years, referred to as emerging young adults. It was hypothesized that young adult caregivers with past and present responsibilities would report significantly more symptoms of depression and anxiety, have lower self-esteem, and use less adaptive coping styles than non-caregiving peers. The sample consisted of 353 undergraduates (81 past caregivers, 76 current/past caregivers, and 196 non-caregivers). Caregivers were also evaluated in terms of care recipients, duration of caregiving, tasks, and hours of effort. Caregivers had significantly higher levels of symptoms of depression and anxiety than non-caregivers. Research to clarify how caregiving interacts with other stressors in emerging young adults and influences behavioral health should be a priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many typically-developing (TD) siblings provide care for their siblings with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), both as children and as adults. Research on parentification (i.e., when children assume responsibilities typically reserved for adults) has been mixed, with some studies supporting positive outcomes for TD siblings and others indicating negative outcomes. Some of these discrepancies may be due to inconsistencies in differentiating types of parentification. The current study examined how different types of parentification during childhood (retrospectively-reported) related to distress outcomes and attitudes about sibling relationships among 41 TD adult siblings of individuals with ASD. Results indicated that parent-focused parentification was positively related with anxiety and stress among TD siblings. Sibling-focused parentification was positively related to stress but was also related to more positive sibling relationship attitudes. Accounting for demographic variables and the other form of parentification, parent-focused parentification was a unique predictor of distress, whereas sibling-focused parentification was a unique predictor of positive sibling relationship attitudes. Although parentification is often viewed negatively, sibling-focused parentification and perceived benefits of parentification may predict positive outcomes. Results suggest that parentification may prove important in understanding the complex nature of sibling relationships. Specifically, strengthening the sibling bond and reducing parent-focused parentification during childhood may curtail sibling relationship problems and general distress in TD siblings later in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the gender division of family labor largely focuses on housework and childcare in spousal couples. This article advances scholarship by examining the gender division of elderly parent care in sibling groups. Using the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of elderly Americans, I find that caregiving to elderly parents varies not only by an adult child's own gender, but also by the gender of the siblings with whom caregiving is shared and by the gender of the parent to whom care is provided. The salience of an adult child's gender manifests in two primary ways: not only do daughters provide more care than do sons to their elderly parents, but daughters' caregiving is also more elastic with respect to their own and their parents' attributes than is sons' caregiving. With respect to the gender of the siblings, sons provide relatively less care if they have sisters, whereas daughters provide relatively more care if they have brothers. With respect to the gender of the parent, sons provide relatively more care to fathers, and daughters provide relatively more care to mothers. Finally, analyses did not reveal changes over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients who undergo surgery for cancer of the head and neck and their families face complex and difficult challenges and are at risk of anxiety and depression and inability to cope with symptom and treatment burden. Information available to support them is not flexible enough to adjust to individual need. Design/Methods: A randomised clinical trial pre and post intervention design, comparing the use of a tailored DVD intervention, provided preoperatively and used throughout the post- operative period, with usual treatment. One hundred fifty-six individuals or partner couples will be randomly recruited into either the intervention or control group. A survey will be administered at three time points, preoperatively, post operatively and 3 months post-surgery. Anxiety and empowerment are the primary outcome measures. Qualitative data about use of the resource will be gathered by phone interview. Discussion: This is the first study to rigorously evaluate the impact of a DVD intervention for this group of patients and their family members. The study will help to understand the impact of information usage on patient and family well- being and test a means by which to evaluate information and education resources for this and other cancer patient groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an increasing number of employees become caregivers, the role of workplace resources in supporting caregivers has attracted the attention of researchers, employers, and policy-makers. Workplace flexibility is one type of resource that has attracted particular interest, with research exploring whether flexibility (that is, giving employees some control over when and/or where work gets done) is related to important outcomes for both employees and employers. This investigation develops and tests a mediational model explicating the process through which workplace flexibility – operationalized in three distinct ways – impacts caregiver stress among US employees. Using a sample of 211 caregivers from the National Study of the Changing Workforce (2008), results show that work-to-family conflict mediates the relationship between perceived workplace flexibility and caregiver stress as well as the relationship between access to flexible work options and caregivers stress. However, the mediational model is not supported when flexibility is operationalized as respondents' formal use of flexible work options. Implications for employers and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury ( TBI) is highly prevalent, with many survivors experiencing long-term disability as a consequence of cognitive impairments, adverse personality changes, and emotional and communication difficulties. Because family members most often assume the long-term role of caregiver, their feelings, relationships, and life plans are often negatively affected. Boss has defined a type of ambiguous loss in which the person is physically present but psychologically absent, which is the case for many families after brain injury. Over the past 2 decades we have developed interventions incorporating ambiguous loss theory to enhance resilience and improve psychological outcomes in families after TBI. This article provides a brief overview of TBI, discusses ambiguous loss in families after TBI, and describes the therapeutic goals and framework of empirically supported family interventions using the lens of ambiguous loss theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sentencing decisions for caregivers rarely consider the potential damage imposed on their minor children due to lost income, child care, and instrumental and emotional support. Family impact statements can be an effective tool for informing such decision-making. The present study explored the needs created in children's lives by surveying 45 caregivers at arraignment in a U.S. state superior court regarding their 108 children. Caregivers, regardless of sex or living arrangement, reported providing monetary and non-monetary supports (e.g., direct care, help with homework, transportation) to children in the month prior to their arrest. These findings suggest that children experience significant loss of support following the sentencing of a caregiver, and underscore the potential benefits of utilizing family impact statements at sentencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that married heterosexual women do more intergenerational caregiving for aging parents and parents-in-law than married heterosexual men do. However, gay men and lesbian women's recent access to marriage presents new questions about the gendered marital dynamics of intergenerational caregiving. We use dyadic data with gay, lesbian, and heterosexual spouses to examine the marital dynamics of intergenerational caregivers. Results show that gay and lesbian spouses provided intensive time and emotional support for an intergenerational caregiver. In contrast, heterosexual women described their intergenerational caregiving as rarely supported and at times even undermined by their spouse. Dyadic data on heterosexual men corroborate women's accounts; heterosexual men rarely reported providing intergenerational caregiving, and thus heterosexual women rarely described providing spousal support. These findings provide new insight into the intermingled roles of 'greedy' marriages and 'needy' parents, wherein marital negotiations around caregiving vary by gender for gay, lesbian, and heterosexual marital dyads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to evaluate a path analytic model accounting for caregivers’ psychological distress that takes into account perceived family cohesion and flexibility, expressed emotion and caregiver's burden associated with the presence of mental illness in the family. 50 first-episode and 50 chronic patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (most recent episode manic severe with psychotic features) recruited from the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit of the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, and their family caregivers participated in the study. Family functioning was assessed in terms of cohesion and flexibility (FACES-IV), expressed emotion (FQ), family burden (FBS) and caregivers’ psychological distress (GHQ-28). Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of family dynamics on caregivers’ psychological distress. The results showed that neither family cohesion nor family flexibility exerted significant direct effects on caregivers’ psychological distress. Instead, the effect of flexibility was mediated by caregivers’ criticism and family burden indicating an indirect effect on caregivers’ psychological distress. These results apply equally to caregivers of first episode and chronic patients. Family interventions aiming to improve dysfunctional family interactions by promoting awareness of family dynamics could reduce the burden and improve the emotional well-being of family caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I explore how migrant caregivers in Israel/Palestine use internet communication technology (ICT) to contest and navigate the gendered and racialized naturalization of their work and social and legal discrimination. I argue that, within the asymmetrical migrant caregiver/citizen-employer relationship, caregivers use ICT as a coping mechanism, for self-expression, to fortify relationships of support with family and friends and to strengthen networks of community solidarity and activism. I conclude by suggesting how each of these strategies and daily modes of contestation can be seen as a 'diagnostic of power' that reveals the multiple forms that structural violence against migrants can take. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Patients with bipolar disorder are characterized by an unusually high divorce rate. As such, the purpose of the present study was to uncover information relating specifically to the impact of bipolar disorder on patients and spouses individually, and on the marital relationship from the perspectives of both patients and spouses. Methods Eleven patients with bipolar disorder and ten spouses were interviewed separately about the impact of bipolar disorder on their lives and on their marital relationship. Data were analyzed using the grounded theory method. Results The impact of bipolar disorder for spouses included self-sacrifice, caregiving burden, emotional impact, and a sense of personal evolution. The impact of bipolar disorder on patients included an emotional impact, responsibility for self-care, and struggling socially and developmentally. When comparing patient and spouse perspectives on the impact of the disorder, neither the patient nor the spouse was able to accurately assess the impact of the disorder on their partner's lives. The impact of bipolar disorder on the relationship included volatility in the relationship, strengthening the relationship, weakening the relationship, and family planning. Conclusions The research indicated that patients and partners alike struggle with the tremendous impact of bipolar disorder on their lives and on their relationships. Given the high rates of divorce and volatility in these relationships, healthcare professionals can provide (or refer to) emotional and practical support both to patients and spouses on their own, and as a couple in their clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 1.4 million young children under the age of 18 in the United States provide some measure of care to a parent or ill family member. These "young carers" in the United States are an isolated group, with no state or national policies providing support or care, in contrast to the numerous programs for adult caregivers in the United States. In the absence of any support programming, this paper examines United States young carers within a rights context, focusing on rights defined by the UN convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC). The paper examines how the conventions and policies are applied to other countries including the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa, and can be used to support the development of services, policies and legislation targeting the rights of young carers in the United States. An analysis of the UNCRC found several articles pertaining to young carers. Article 19 provides for the right to be protected from violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation; Article 9, on the need to keep young carers with their parents; Article 17, on addressing the role media can play in raising awareness of young carers; Article 28 underscores the right to do well in school, and is vital to young carers whose schoolwork frequently suffers as a result of caregiving duties; Article 31 addresses rest and leisure, underscoring the right to have down time and rest from their caregiving lives; and finally, Article 32 recognizes the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and the need to provide financial support for young carers. The United States pays little to no attention to young carers. Thus, basing young carer needs within a rights based framework, including those used by other countries, may provide the backing for the development and creation of support policies across the United States for an isolated, underserved population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Effective teamwork is known to be important to improving health care outcomes. Current research often highlights teamwork among health care professionals without consideration of approaches to including family as part of the health care team. In this study, the authors assess family and provider openness to expanding the care team to include family participation and introduce the Family Involvement Menu as a tool to facilitate family engagement. Method: They collected 37 family surveys and 37 clinician surveys to understand the perception, comfort level, experience, and interest of family and clinicians in including family in the care of the patient. The majority of family reported being interested and comfortable in participating in care (95% and 92%, respectively). Results: The majority of clinicians considered family already to be part of the health care team (92%) though only 16% reported routinely inviting families to participate in direct patient care all the time. Multiple direct patient care activities were identified as promising opportunities for family engagement. Barriers to family engagement reported included the family being scared (19%). uncomfortable (19%), or unwilling (14%) or nurses not having enough time (14%) to involve families. Discussion: Engaging family has the potential to increase nursing availability for other tasks, enhance relationship building, and is an opportunity to introduce early education for family, better preparing them for transition of care and discharge. The Family Involvement Menu supports family engagement and can be a strategy to include family members as part of the health care team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Shorter hospital stays and greater emphasis on outpatient care means that family members have the primary responsibility for supporting a person with brain tumor to manage the physical, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional effects of the illness and its treatment. Given the integral role of family caregivers, it is essential to understand their experience of the impact of brain tumor and their own support needs. Accordingly, this qualitative study aimed to investigate family caregivers' experiences of support and relationship changes in the context of brain tumor. In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 family caregivers (8 spouse/partner, 3 parents) of people with malignant or benign tumor. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts identified two major themes, namely, "Meanings of Support" and "Relationship Impacts." The Meanings of Support theme was characterized by intertwined and distinct support needs, varied expectations of support and factors influencing support expectations. The Relationship Impacts theme depicted mixed experiences of strengthened, maintained, and strained relations with the person with brain tumor. Overall, the findings highlight that there is considerable variability in caregivers' experiences and expectations of support and the impact of brain tumor on relationships. The implications of these findings for the provision of caregiver support are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: to evaluate the burden of family caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorders, as perceived by themselves. Methods: 20 subjects participated, of both genders, aged between 22 and 60 years (mean = 32.6), ten families of children with autism spectrum disorders and, to compose the control group, ten family members of children with disorders language. The children were between three and ten years of age (Mean = 5.8). The control group was selected from the pairing of age, education and gender of children. In order to evaluate the caregiver burden Scale was used Burden Interview and sociodemographic data were collected from participants. The statistical analysis was performed from the Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlation analysis (p <.05). Results: mean overload index of family caregivers of both groups was 28, therefore, no difference was observed statistically significant and indicated that the G1 and G2 were moderately overloaded. Participant characteristics were not significant in overload index. Conclusions: caring for children with autism spectrum disorders can overwhelm their families similarly to the relatives of children with other disorders of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal caregivers are the family members and friends who provide help and support daily to individuals who are temporarily or permanently unable to function independently. They have to engage in a range of activities. They have a long term commitment to the persons they are helping and are usually not paid for their efforts. In certain Asian cultures, there is a peculiar concept that seems to be playing a great role in aiding people to adhere to their responsibility and derive satisfaction from their role of caregiving. This is known as filial piety. It consists of multiple behavioural norms associated with care and support for parents, maintaining family continuity, harmonising family relations, serving community elders and worshipping the ancestors. This belief of filial obligation is often translated into practice to mean that children should ensure that their parents are well cared for in old age. This includes attending to them when they are ill, paying attention to parents' wishes, obeying their preferences, behaving in a way that makes them happy and also bring them honour and respect in the community. Against this background the purpose of the present study is to review the literature on the role of filial piety in informal caregiving. Literature suggests that the role of filial piety in caregiving is both positive and negative, as some caregivers derive satisfaction and high self esteem from caregiving because of high filial piety while some caregivers experience burden if this obligation is fulfilledjust for the sake of face saving. Thus the present review paper aims to throw light on how filial piety effects not only the caregiving arrangements but also the caregiving experiences of informal caregivers in terms of various psychological variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new role has emerged within the current demographic context of an aging population; namely, that of the worker-caregiver. The person who works and also cares for a disabled family member has personal and work-related problems and is less committed to their own self-care. Improving the perception of social support can be an effective intervention in this respect. The article describes an interdisciplinary program initiated in 2009 to support family workers-caregivers. Its purpose is to promote health and prevent disease risk factors by strengthening self-care skills and the development of institutional policies that facilitate efficient and healthy compliance with both roles. Some of the health promotion strategies that have been used include education for self-care, strengthening family and social support networks, professional counseling and a community of peers. Sixty workers took part in the last three annual cohorts: 83.4% were women, with an average age of fifty. The program has successfully met Its proposed objectives by increasing the perception of social support expressed by the participants themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Determine the face validity and content validity of a proposed semantic modification in the scale created by Barrera to measure the care-giving ability of family members who care for chronically ill persons. Materials and methods: The study featured a methodological design and was conducted in three phases: semantic adequacy, determining the degree of comprehensibility, and face validity and content validity of the proposed amendment to the scale. Results: The items were checked one by one to determine semantic adequacy, based on discussion of the terms used in the scale formulated initially. Three hundred eighty-five (385) formats designed by the researcher were applied to determine the degree of comprehensibility. In all, five items were found with low comprehensibility and ten with medium comprehensibility; they were subject to changes in light of theory and the observations made by the subjects. Face validity and content validity were determined by a panel of experts, using Fleiss's kappa coefficient of concordance. As for face validity, it was found that most of the items were accepted; in terms of content validity, it was concluded the semantically modified scale measures the care-giving ability of family members who care for persons with chronic illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Measure the effectiveness of social support intervention through Edumatic (an Interactive CD ROM) and telephone followup focused on caregivers of persons with hypertension. Methods: This quasi-experimental research study of 110 family caregivers was completed in 2012. Hilbert's "Inventory of Social Support in Chronic Illness" was used. It consists of five categories. The data were expressed through descriptive statistics. Comparisons between scores on the first and second measurements were done with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between the initial mean values of the score and the final mean values for the social interaction dimension (p = 0.002), with an increase in its score. The other dimensions that were gauged (personal interaction, guidance, feedback) showed no change in either measurement. The dimension of tangible support was not evaluated for ethical reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the background of a deeply uneven package of work-family reconciliation measures and an increasing focus on engaging men in unpaid care work, in this article I discuss the extension of the Irish discrimination law framework to provide protection against family status discrimination to workers who are engaged in certain care relationships. While this development of the law to recognize a relational understanding of inequality is welcome, its confined definition of family status fails to capture the range of workers' caring relationships and networks. Adopting a contextualized assessment of 12 years of litigation generated under the 'family status' ground, with reference to complainants' gender and work status, the study considers the types of experiences being litigated as 'family status' discrimination. The study show how much of the nature and forms of inequality presented before the tribunals are beyond the conceptual boundaries of the principle of equal treatment that depends upon a sameness of treatment model with the (gendered) 'care-less' comparator. Despite its potential to question the neutrality of workplace structures predicated upon the division between paid work and unpaid care, the principle of indirect family status discrimination has been under utilised as a litigation strategy. The most successful dimension of family status discrimination protection has been in respect of its ability to capture the negative stereotyping of worker-carers who continue to perform as ideal workers. I suggest that this extension of a limited negative rights framework, when considered alongside the state's extremely poor support for workcare reconciliation more broadly, places negligible obligations on employers, and that the gender neutrality implicit in its provisions have yet to impact on gender equality as regards work-care reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States and using the stress process model, this study compared caregiving parents and caregiving adult children with regard to health outcomes. The study sample consisted of 74 caregiving parents and 219 caregiving adult children. Predictors included type of family relationship, provision of activities of daily living, duration of caregiving, and family demands. Social support did not mediate the relations between significant predictor variables and health outcomes. The type of family relationship was associated with health outcomes with caregiving parents demonstrating poorer self-perceived health and more chronic conditions than caregiving adult children. Perceived family demands were associated with increased number of chronic conditions for caregiving adult children and caregiving parents. Unlike previous studies that measured objective family demands, perceived family demands was found to have a strong association with the number of chronic health conditions for both groups of caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study developed a multidimensional measure to assess participant responsiveness to a preventive intervention and applied this measure to study how participant baseline characteristics predict responsiveness and how responsiveness predicts program outcomes. The study was conducted with caregivers who participated in the parenting-focused component of the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), a prevention program for families that have experienced parental death. The sample consisted of 89 caregivers assigned to the intervention condition in the efficacy trial of the FBP. Positive parenting, caregiver depression, and child externalizing problems at baseline were found to predict caregivers' use of program skills outside the group, and more child internalizing problems predicted more positive perceptions of the group environment. Higher levels of skill use during the program predicted increased positive parenting at the 11-month follow-up, whereas positive perceptions of the group environment predicted decreased caregiver depressive symptoms at follow-up. Caregiver skill use mediated the relation between baseline positive parenting and improvements in positive parenting at 11-month follow-up, and skill use and perceived group environment mediated changes in caregiver depression from baseline to 11-month follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review focuses on parental decision making regarding the care and treatment of children with cancer. Articles were abstracted from the following sources: Ovid Databases (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Review of Effects, Medline, and Social Work Abstracts) and EBSCOhost (Academic Search Premier and Academic Search Complete) using smart text. The criteria for the search were publications between 2005 and 2012 and publication in peer-review journals. The descriptors used were parents of children with cancer, decision making, decisions about childhood cancer, and parents. The search yielded 59 references, but after duplicates, as well as dated and irrelevant articles were removed, 17 articles were identified that focused specifically on the decisions parents make regarding the care and treatment of children with cancer. Coders agreed that the child's quality of life/well-being, parental hope/expectations, support/supportive care, communication, and information were important themes in considering the decisions parents made regarding the care and treatment of children with cancer. These themes provide insight into the needs of parents in making decisions about the care and treatment of children with cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have long examined the effects of family and community on ethnicity, but they have less to say on why some children may be more receptive to the positive influences of ethnic communities than siblings within the same family. As more immigrants struggle to adapt to the needs and demands of the new global economy, many families are turning to alternative caregiving arrangements that significantly impact the long-term ethnic identities of the second generation. The article considers how adult-age children of immigrants negotiate the emotional disconnects created by these varying contexts of care depending on their individual role within the family and how it shapes their views on ethnicity and culture in their own adult lives. The study focuses in-depth on fourteen semi-structured, in-person interviews with adult-age children of Asian immigrant families in the NY-NJ metropolitan area. Depending on their social status, children of immigrants are integrated into their families: as cultural brokers expected to mediate and care for their family members, as familial dependents who rely on their parents for traditional caregiving functions, or as autonomous caretakers who grow up detached from their parents. I argue that because of their intense engagement with family, cultural brokers describe their ethnic-centered experiences as evoking feelings of reciprocated empathy, whereas on the other end, autonomous caretakers associate their parents' ancestral culture with ethnocentric exclusion. Depending on how they are able to negotiate the cultural divide, familial dependents generally view their parents' culture and immigrant experiences through the hierarchical lens of emulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To critically review, analyze, and synthesize the literature on parenting stress among caregivers of children with asthma, cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, epilepsy, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and/or sickle cell disease. Method PsychInfo, MEDLINE, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature were searched according to inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis of 13 studies and qualitative analysis of 96 studies was conducted. Results Caregivers of children with chronic illness reported significantly greater general parenting stress than caregivers of healthy children (d = .40; p = &leq;.0001). Qualitative analysis revealed that greater general parenting stress was associated with greater parental responsibility for treatment management and was unrelated to illness duration and severity across illness populations. Greater parenting stress was associated with poorer psychological adjustment in caregivers and children with chronic illness. Conclusion Parenting stress is an important target for future intervention. General and illness-specific measures of parenting stress should be used in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

During recent decades a significant body of research regarding nursing home placement of an elderly family member has been produced. While some risk factors for placement have been uncovered, such as health and well-being of the caregiver and care recipient, what is left unknown is the lived experience at the point of nursing home placement. The application of an interactionist perspective focuses attention on how nursing home placement decisions are affected by caregivers’ interpersonal interactions. This study examines the interactions that influenced long-term care placements among 18 caregivers using data from in-depth interviews. Findings show that significant interactions, ultimately leading to institutionalization, took place between the caregivers and their health care professionals, friends, family members, and God. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Complex trauma (CT) results from exposure to severe stressors that occur within the caregiver system or with another presumably responsible adult, are repetitive, and begin in childhood or adolescence. As a result, many of these children and adolescents experience lifelong difficulties related to self-regulation, relationships, psychological symptoms, alterations in attention and consciousness, self-injury, identity, and cognitive distortions. The aims of this article include the following: (a) to examine several representative approaches identified as treatments for children and adolescents exposed to CT with respect to similarities and differences; (b) to examine representative evidence of model effectiveness; (c) to discuss how these approaches are and/or could be implemented in clinical practice; and (d) to suggest research designs that would facilitate greater translation of effective treatment into clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For older adults who have experienced early life trauma, the aging process can be particularly challenging as resources, abilities, and environments change. Although researchers have documented these challenges well, few studies have examined the experiences of family caregivers to older adults who have endured early life trauma. In this qualitative study, the researchers interviewed 17 family caregivers to Holocaust survivors. Content analysis revealed themes typical of caregiving, including stress, filial piety, and guilt; however, these themes appeared to be amplified by the early life trauma endured by the older adults. Caregivers were also reluctant to seek assistance, as they compared their own stress with the incomparable stress endured by the Holocaust survivors. The findings provide an understanding of the specific challenges faced by family caregivers to older adults who have experienced early life trauma and hold important implications for health care professionals who work with these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female labour migrants face contradictory expectations. On the one hand, they are expected to be their families' and communities' economic saviours. On the other hand, they are expected to meet their maternal responsibilities even while they are abroad; otherwise, they face charges of maternal neglect. My goal in this article is to highlight how female migrant workers handle these conflicting demands. I discuss how migrant women simultaneously adapt to and challenge imposed family separation through the case study of Filipina live-in caregivers in Canada. They do this in two ways. First, they exhibittransnational hyper-maternalismwhich allows them to overcome accusations of neglect. They ‘mother across borders’ by providing for their families and by using technology to supervise, monitor and communicate with their children. In doing so, they reify and contest established gender roles. Second, they are active in civil society. In doing so, they highlight the negative consequences migrant women and their families face. Reconceptualized notions of motherhood characterize migrant women's transnational parenting, while the desire to ameliorate the negative consequences of family separation and reunification explain their activism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Guided by life course and stress process theory, this study investigated pathways of adult child caregivers' family (caregiving, marital, parenting) and nonfamily (employment) roles. Eight waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study were analyzed for 1,300 adult child caregivers. Latent class analysis provided strong evidence for a 4-class model of caregivers' role pathways. The four pathways were (a) Not-Married, Early-Transition to Not-Working Caregivers (34%), (b) Married, Not-Working Caregivers (26%), (c) Married, Late-Transition to Not-Working Caregivers (23%), and (d) Married, Not-Working Caregivers with Coresiding Child (17%). Caregivers' background characteristics and contexts predicted pathway membership. Adult child caregivers have structurally diverse life pathways that have implications for theory, research, and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports on a discourse analysis of how responsibilities for the care of older people are defined and distributed in the interview talk of working caregivers in Finland. The analysis focuses on how the interviewees depict their encounters with professionals (e.g. social care and healthcare workers) and the responsibilities attached to the position of a family member vs a professional. In the interview talk, the roles of the professionals range from authorities and experts who ally with family members, to adversaries or failing experts whose actions require involvement of the client's family members. Being a trustworthy professional requires not only having expert knowledge and technical skills but taking overall responsibility for the wellbeing of the client. The findings show that family members categorise professionals as competent or as failing to fulfil their responsibilities. The central question is whether both parties have an equal opportunity to express their views and whether open communication is possible to develop professional decision-making and client interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study examined the role of personal loss due to mental illness and meaning-related coping strategies on reports of caregiving among well siblings of adults with serious mental illness. Method: A sample of 103 well siblings of adults with serious mental illness completed an online survey. Participants were recruited through websites related to mental illness and through contact with leaders of family support groups. Results: Personal loss, not meaning-related coping, was the strongest predictor of current caregiving among well siblings. Well siblings' age, support group affiliation, and perceived level of sibling dependence also contributed to variation in reports of current caregiving. Conclusion: Personal loss has powerful implications for research and interventions focused on sibling involvement in caregiving for adults with mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]