Influence of Adult Children’s Family Size, Family Life Cycle and Income on Care of Elderly Parents in Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the influence of adult children’s family size, stage in family life cycle and income on the provision of care to elderly parents among adult children working in University of Calabar, Nigeria. The cross-sectional study adopted a purposive sampling technique to select 350 consenting respondents. Family size was operationalized as the total number of children in the household consisting of the number of children still living in the house and those who are outside but still dependent on the respondent for some form of support. Stage in family life cycle was operationalized as the distribution of children in each education level (nursery, primary, secondary and higher institution) according to age range of adult children. Adult children income was measured as income of the respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi square test of significance. Findings revealed a significant relationship between adult children’s family size and provision of care to the elderly. The more the number of children in the household within the indicated age ranges of adult children, the less the amount of care given to the elderly. Although income of adult children was not a significant predictor of provision of care given to elderly parents, the measured financial responsibility of adult children in respect of the number of children in the household still dependent on them for some form of support, indicated by the number of children in various levels of schooling, inversely affected adult children’s care of elderly parents.