Patterns and Predictors of Adult Children’s Perceptions as Mothers’ Primary and Secondary Caregivers

• In Event: 4266 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 2. Caregiving

Abstract

In order to best identify and address the challenges of caregivers, scholars have sought to identify between- and within-family characteristics that predict which adult children transition into the role of caregiver for a parent. Most of these studies, however, have failed to distinguish between primary and secondary caregivers or have focused exclusively on primary caregivers. Utilizing longitudinal data from 294 adult children nested within 130 families, we explored factors that differentiate among adult children who self-identified as primary, secondary, and non-caregivers for their mothers. Compared to secondary caregivers, primary caregivers were more likely to have reported previously that they were the child who was most emotionally close to and most likely to care for their mother. Daughters were more likely to become caregivers; further, they were more likely to be primary than secondary caregivers. Married individuals were more likely to transition into the role of secondary caregiver than primary caregiver or non-caregiver. Compared to non-caregivers, primary and secondary caregivers were more likely to live within two hours of their mother; there was no significant difference, however, between primary and secondary caregivers in terms of their distance from their mother. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between primary and secondary caregivers and give insight into how challenges experienced by caregivers may vary depending on whether one identifies as a primary or secondary caregiver for one’s mother.

Authors

• Marissa Rurka, Purdue University

• J. Jill Suitor, Purdue University

• Megan Gilligan, Iowa State University

• Yifei Hou, Purdue University

• Catherine Stepniak, Purdue University