Two Transitions in Daughters' Caregiving Careers

doi:10.1093/geront/40.4.437

Two Transitions in Daughters' Caregiving Careers

^aPolisher Research Institute at Temple Continuing Care Center, Philadelphia, PA
^bPolisher Research Institute at Temple Continuing Care Center, Philadelphia Geriatric Center
^cNow at Washington University School of Occupational Therapy, St. Louis, MO

M. Powell Lawton, PhD, , Polisher Research Institute at Temple Continuing Care Center, Philadelphia Geriatric Center, 5301 Old York Road, Philadelphia, PA 19141-2996. E-mail: mlawton{at}thunder.ocis.temple.edu.

Received May 10, 1999.
Accepted February 21, 2000.

Abstract

Daughters and daughters-in-law of presently unmarried elders were studied longitudinally, and the data were analyzed to determine how two transitions in caregiving status affected the women of the younger generation. One transition compared noncaregivers who had become caregivers 1 year later ("caregiving entrants," $\text{[math]}$ ) with continuing noncaregivers ( $\text{[math]}$ ) and with veteran continuing caregivers ( $\text{[math]}$ ) over the same period. The second transition followed Time 1 new caregivers as they became "new veteran" caregivers ( $\text{[math]}$ ), comparing them with "old veteran" caregivers ( $\text{[math]}$ ) over the same year. The transition to caregiving was marked by a decrease in the care receiver's competence and an increase in the amount of care received, but caregiving entrants' quality of life did not change significantly over 1 year, as compared with either continuing noncaregivers or veteran caregivers. Although longitudinal study shows little positive evidence for the wear-and-tear model of caregiving, methodological improvements are needed before discarding the hypothesis that caregiving erodes mental health.