Theorizing about Family Caregiving: The Role of Responsibility

Abstract

Studies of family caregiving to older parents have focused on filial responsibility. In this study, the meaning of familial responsibility to older members was investigated by interviewing two or three generations in families providing assistance to older family members in a noninstitutional setting. Forty-three members of 15 families discussed the meaning of responsibility to older relatives who needed assistance. The data suggest that familial responsibility encompasses both responsibility to the older person and responsibility to other family members and that shared responsibility among several family members is not uncommon. Implications for future research and provision of services to families are discussed. Key Words: caregiving theory, familial responsibility, family caregiving, inter-generational relations. Researchers have documented extensive family involvement in the provision of assistance to older family members who are frail or ill (Stone, Cafferata, & Sangl, 1987). Many families make a concerted effort to keep their loved ones at home and out of institutions for as long as possible, a strong indication that families feel considerable responsibility for the care of their elderly members. Despite emphasis in the gerontological literature on the activities of primary caregivers, several family members are frequently involved in caregiving activities (Keith, 1995; Mellins, Blum, Boyd-Davis, & Gatz, 1993). When adult children provide assistance to their parents, daughters and daughters-in-law usually assume the role of primary caregiver, and sons and sons-in-law provide supplemental help to their spouses or sisters (Matthews & Rosner, 1988; Stoller, 1990; Stone et al., 1987). The extent to which grandchildren assist their caregiving parents or help their grandparents directly is not well known. However, one recent study reported that in some families grandchildren provided assistance to their grandparents that included handling legal matters, running errands, and giving injections, thereby sharing in the caregiver role with their parents (Pyke & Bengtson, 1996). Results of these studies suggest the importance of examining the role of multiple and extended family members to obtain a more complete picture of how families provide care to older members. Several researchers (Cicirelli, 1992; Dwyer & Coward, 1992) have urged that caregiving research focus on the family network in order to understand how it operates to provide support and assistance to its older members. In addition, there is a need to develop a theory of family caregiving. Scholars who have proposed theoretical constructs related to family caregiving have called attention to the importance of the family's perception of responsibility to its older members as a factor that might predict what families will do for their dependent elders (Brubaker & Brubaker, 1989). Rossi and Rossi (1990) examined perceptions of responsibility among family members in potential caregiving situations. In their intergenerational study, they asked participants to rate the degree of felt obligation to different family members who needed assistance and who varied in their degree of kinship to the respondent. They found that the degree of relatedness between respondent and kin predicted the degree of obligation felt by the respondent. Felt obligation was greatest toward one's parents and children, persons labeled as primary kin (Rossi, 1993). A study by Finley, Roberts, and Banahan (1988) explored factors that might affect adult children's development of feelings of obligation to care for aged parents and parents-in-law. They found that the factors most salient to the development of filial responsibility varied by the gender of the respondent and were different, depending on whether the recipients of care were mothers, fathers, or in-laws. They concluded that studies of filial obligation toward aged parents should include an examination of the child's gender and the type of parent in order to produce valid assessments. …