Mother Caregivers Research Articles

Promoting Self-Reflection of Social Isolation Through Persuasive Mobile Technologies: The Case of Mother Caregivers of Children With Cancer

Mother caregivers of children with cancer are often unaware of how the tasks of caregiving interfere in their social relationships and lifestyle. This article explores how persuasive mobile technologies may promote the self-reflection and introspection of communication practices, emotions, and lifestyle. The article describes the design of EmotionMingle, a mobile system running in a situated display showing an ambient visualization using the metaphor of a tree to represent the status of an individual’s social network that, used in tandem with downloaded Facebook photographs, may help caregivers avoid social isolation. EmotionMingle also informs caregivers of how their emotions correlate with their communication practices and lifestyle. The results of a qualitative evaluation of the EmotionMingle prototype reveal that mother caregivers perceived it as useful and its visualizations as appropriate. The findings from this study reveal emergent practices of using mobile persuasive applications for self-reflection to discover wellness trends, possibly inducing behavior change.

Unemployed, employed & care-giving mothers: Quality of partner & family relations

Abstract A retrospective ELSPAC study (N = 2756) compared three groups of mothers of three-year-old children: 1) employed, 2) voluntarily unemployed, and 3) involuntarily unemployed, about the quality of their partnership and family relationships. The results show that the involuntarily unemployed mothers have the lowest quality of family life. In these families there is more conflict, disagreement and hostile communication towards the woman and child. Employed mothers also experience some family problems. Overall, those most satisfied with their family lives are the voluntarily unemployed mothers. There is more positive communication between partners, including sharing and intimacy in this group. The results were interpreted as stemming from the distress caused by involuntary unemployment, the double burden of the female role and gender role models in the family.

Caregiving in Mothers' Narratives of Perinatal Hospice

A mother whose baby is diagnosed prenatally with a life-threatening condition frequently has weeks or months to prepare for birth and death. Research and anecdotal evidence affirm a mother's mindful journey with her unborn child. Bowlby's theory of caregiving, reciprocal to attachment, provides a theoretical framework for this study. Caregiving includes the goals of protecting, nurturing, and socializing a child. The authors used directed content analysis for a secondary analysis of data from the category of caregiving, created in a prior study of 15 mothers recruited from perinatal hospice support organizations. Results identify multiple ways that mothers protect, nurture, and socialize, and add a new category: final acts of caregiving. Understanding caregiving as a goal-corrected system strengthens the evidence for giving mothers every opportunity to care for their babies in ways that are normal and natural to them.

Trajectories of Parenting During Infancy: The Role of Infant Temperament and Marital Adjustment for Mothers and Fathers

Although it is well accepted that parents greatly impact infant development, it is less clear which factors impact change in quantity and quality of parenting across infancy. This longitudinal study (N = 120 families) investigated how infant temperament and marital adjustment related to trajectories of mother and father involvement and sensitivity across infancy using multilevel models. Parental involvement (caregiving and play), infant temperament (surgency, negative affectivity, regulation), and marital adjustment were assessed from questionnaires when the infant was 3, 5, 7, 12, 14, and 20 months of age; parental sensitivity was coded from two episodes of the Still‐Face Paradigm in early infancy (3, 5, and 7 months). On average, mothers showed higher levels of caregiving, play, and sensitivity than fathers. Mother caregiving, play, and sensitivity increased over time. Father caregiving and play also increased over time, whereas sensitivity did not change with age. Happier marriages were related to increased play for both mothers and fathers. Infant surgency was also significantly related to caregiving, play, and sensitivity trajectories for mothers but not fathers. Findings are discussed in relation to parenting roles and family dynamics.

Health-related quality of life and depression in Rett syndrome caregivers

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder primarily affecting females with an estimated incidence of 1:10,000-15,000 female births. Currently, there is no specific treatment that halts or reverses the progression of RTT. Therefore, management was mainly symptomatic, focussed on optimising patient's abilities. The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and depression in mothers who care for children with Rett syndrome (RTT) in Serbia. The cross-sectional study was conducted on 49 mothers giving care to females with RTT. Caregivers" HRQoL was assessed by using the SF-36 questionnaire. Clinical severity score (CSS) of RTT patients and Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI -II) scale were used to quantify RTT severity and mothers' depression, respectively. Statistical assessment included descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple logistic regression. The age of mothers ranged from 22 to 55 years and of their affected children from 3 to 29 years. Severe depression was observed in 15 (30.6%) participants. CSS and BDI-II scores correlated negatively with all SF-36 domains and composite scores. Lowest scoring domains of HRQoL in mothers giving care to RTT children were mental health, vitality and role functioning emotional. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that severity of RTT patients' disability (CSS) and caregivers' age are factors with strongest influence to HRQoL and depression in care giving mothers. Mothers giving care to children with RTT are at high risk of severe depression and lower HRQoL scores of domains that reflect mental well-being. Results of this study can help in planning subsequent interventions directed at families dealing with Rett syndrome.

Pagalbos ištekliai senatvine demencija sergančio artimojo globos proceso metu: Moterų-globėjų perspektyva

Elderly people are a rapidly growing part of the population worldwide. This work aims to reveal the informal family care of elderly person. The objective of the study is – to reveal the resources for family care of an elderly relative suffering from senile dementia from the foman caregiver perspective. In order to reveal the experience of caregivers in the family caring for the elderly with the senile dementia, was a qualitative study using in-depth interviews instrument. This study was based on interpretative constructivist ontology and subjectivist epistemology perspectives. Study participants are five women, caring for mothers in their families. The data were analyzed on the basis of elements of grounded theory analysis using the coding categories, subcategories identification, and theoretical sensitivity (analytical) steps. This study revealed the daughters caregivers early idealizing mother’s care, in the long time process, in the exchanges of mother behavior and emerges symptoms of senile dementia, is experiencing hopelessness, feelings of despair, growing into anger and even hatred to diseased mother. On the caregiving process requirements and responsibilities, two participants in this study had to abandon their professional activity, thus leading to reduced financial resources necessary for the caregiver and sick mother basic needs. Care involved the whole caregiver family: it becomes socially isolated, because it has no time for socializing and outings with other relatives or friends. Caregiver’s teenager becomes irritable, angry, closed, unwilling to communicate with parents. It appears grandchildren hatred and anger against diseased grandmother. Caregiver’s spouse can survive being concerned about his wife, the desire to help, and at the same time angry to the diseased person at home on the prevailing tension, anxiety and conflict. During care process it becomes very important the surrounding support: family members of direct aid in the daily care-related activities, emotional supported, foster brothers and sisters active participation in sharing the role of caregiver for a short period of time, residence community support. One of the formal resources of assistance in the study participants are identified by healthcare professionals, which aid, often the limited medical treatment and nursing procedures discussion. Caregivers say they have no information and do not know what help social worker provide. Caregivers perceptions of support resources is constructed on the perspective of social services defamilizacation. Lithuania dominant informal assistance as a primary and essential sources of assistance are very distinctly heard in the stories of the research participants. Woman caregiver, seeing that one is not able to carry out all the near-care-related activities, primarily instrumental and emotional support are turning to family members and relatives. However, in doing so, she is experiencing guilt, because care is near the time only one of its responsibilities. Formal sources of help are becoming the primary health care institutions, non-governmental organizations working with the family is seeing fragmented and poorly in women’s point of view.

Emerging adults’ perspectives on their relationships with mothers with mental illness: Implications for caregiving.

Guided by a life course perspective, the current study examined whether emerging adults with and without mothers with affective disorders viewed their relationships with their mothers differently, and whether aspects of the emerging adult-mother relationship were associated with reports of caregiving for mothers. Reports from emerging adults with mothers with affective disorders (n = 46) were compared to reports from emerging adults with mothers without mental illness (n = 64). Results indicated that emerging adults with mothers with affective disorders reported significantly lower levels of affection, felt obligation, reciprocity, and future caregiving intentions, and significantly higher levels of role reversal in their relationships with their mothers. Reported current caregiving levels did not differ between emerging adults with and without mothers with affective disorders. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses generally indicated higher levels of felt obligation were associated with higher levels of caregiving, regardless of maternal mental health status. Results and future research directions are discussed from a life course perspective.

Testing Respite Effect of Work on Stress Among Mothers of Children with Special Needs

Extant research is ambivalent about whether or not working outside the home provides mothers of children with special needs a buffer against the stressful effects of caregiving. The empirical evidence of a respite effect is based primarily on small, non-probability samples. The study reported here used a large nationally representative sample of families from the National Survey of American Families (NSAF) and analysis that addressed the biasing effects of simultaneity between the dependent variable (parent stress) and employment. Results produced are consistent with a caregiver-specific respite effect from work, at least among mother caregivers of older children who were not concerned that working will have negative effects on their child’s well-being and who worked regular shifts in higher level occupations.

The Quality of Life and Psychological Status of Mothers of Hospitalized Pediatric Oncology Patients

This study compares the quality of life (QoL) and psychological status of mothers of children with cancer with those of mothers of children without cancer. One hundred hospitalized children and their mothers, as primary caregivers, were included in this study. Fifty mothers with healthy children were enrolled as the control group. A children and mother query form was used to obtain demographical data. The disease histories were extracted from patient records. QoL was measured with the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in order to assess the psychological symptoms of the mothers in the study and in the control groups. The mean age of the caregivers was 35.93 ± 8.27 years, whereas the mean age of the mothers in the control group was 39.72 ± 6.88 years. The general health, vitality, social functioning, and mental health scores from the SF-36 and the STAI-trait scores were significantly poorer among the mothers of children with cancer as compared with the scores of the mothers of children without cancer (P < .05). Significant negative correlations were found between the age of the children, the age at diagnosis, and the SF-36 subscores for physical functioning, physical role, and pain (P < .05). The mothers of children with cancer, who require hospital care, have poorer QoL and psychological health than the mothers of healthy children. These results suggest that the current system for treating cancer in Turkish children should also include close monitoring of the care-giving mothers’ QoL and psychological health.

Being concerned: caregiving for Taiwanese mothers of a child with cerebral palsy

This article explores the Chinese social context and provides insight into Taiwanese mothers' challenging experiences when a disabled child is born into their families. International research indicates that barriers to maternal caregiving for a disabled child revolve around challenging relationships. Giving birth to a disabled child creates a huge challenge for mothers in Chinese society. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and journaling methods. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach, informed by the philosophical world views of Heidegger and Gadamer, provided theoretical guidance in revealing and interpreting mothers' experiences. Interviews were carried out with a purposeful sample of 15 mothers who were primary caregivers for a child aged between 0-18 years who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and used Mandarin or Taiwanese as their primary language. Shared meanings revealed four modes of being concerned: (1) experiencing burden as a sole primary caregiver; (2) managing the challenges by balancing demands; (3) being marginalised by others; and (4) encountering limited or no professional support. Taiwanese mothers face the strain of managing barriers to caregiving in contexts in which their children are not supported or acknowledged as being important contributors to family and Chinese society at large. This study highlights how the family can be important to caregiving mothers in traditional Chinese family life. Poor support and dynamics will emerge when family members regard disability as a loss of face or a stigma. By learning from Taiwanese mothers who accommodate barriers to caregiving on a daily basis, nurses can seize the impetus to explore ways of reconceptualising nursing practice with families and people with disabilities. The aim is to explore ways that will ultimately align intentions and caring processes and foster coping and positive reward in caring, thereby creating a context that is stress reducing and therapeutic.

Caregiving mothers of children with impairments: coping and support in Russia

Parents providing long‐term care for their children with impairments face myriad physical and emotional challenges. Researchers have examined coping strategies among parent caregivers in various contexts internationally. However, little research has focused on caregiving mothers of children with impairments in developing countries, and even less on mothers in Russia. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the ways in which caregiving mothers cope and their perceptions of services and supports they need and utilize in a small Russian city. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with caregiving mothers (n = 20) concerning postnatal and current treatment, information and services, finances, social support, and future plans. Analysis revealed that planning for the future and navigating limited resources, overcoming structural barriers and cultural obstacles, and maintaining social support were the three most important facets of mothers’ abilities to cope with the demands of caregiving.

Brazilian children's behavioural differentiation between the mother, unfamiliar adults and professional caregivers

This study took place in two organisations with opposite socio‐economic characteristics which gather children (one to four years), their mothers (or nannies), unfamiliar adults and professional caregivers. Pursuant to attachment theory, the children clearly differentiated their mothers from unfamiliar adults according to proximity indicators and time in oriented behaviours. Children's behaviours towards the professionals were assessed on the same criteria: interactions with the professionals were characterised by availability without great proximity; no difference appeared between mothers and nannies. Children's behaviours towards adults were mirrored by adults' behaviours towards children. Implications in the qualification of the relationship to non‐parental caregivers are discussed.

“It Should Have Been Happening To Me”: The Psychosocial Issues Older Caregiving Mothers Experience

The occurrence of cancer is an event of significant importance to family functioning. The present analysis reports on an understudied group profoundly affected by this health event: older mothers caring for an adult child with cancer. As part of a study of breast cancer survivors and their family caregivers, a subsample (N = 13) of older caregiving mothers (mean age 68) participated in focused interviews. The interviews, conducted in English or Spanish, were audio-taped, transcribed, and subjected to content analysis. Analyses of the mothers' accounts elucidate complex psychosocial reactions to their adult daughters' cancer diagnosis that are informed by life-cycle considerations. These reactions, which include a reawakening of maternal behavior, a need to come to terms with the asynchronous nature of their daughters' health event, and an intense feeling of personal responsibility, illustrate the need for family-centered care in oncology.

Emotional impact in β-thalassaemia major children following cognitive-behavioural family therapy and quality of life of caregiving mothers

BackgroundCognitive-Behavioural Family Therapy (CBFT) can be an effective psychological approach for children with β-thalassaemia major, increasing compliance to treatment, lessening the emotional burden of disease, and improving the quality of life of caregivers.Design and methodsTwenty-eight β-thalassaemic major children that followed CBFT for one year were compared with twenty-eight age-matched healthy children, focusing particularly on behavioural, mood, and temperamental characteristics as well as compliance with chelation, assessed using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), and Emotionality, Activity, Sociability and Shyness Scale (EAS). We also monitored the quality of life of caregiving mothers using the World Health Organization Quality Of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Data were analysed with non-parametric standard descriptive statistics.Results90% of β-Thalassaemic children showed good compliance with chelation therapy; however they had significantly increased somatic complains, physical symptoms and separation panic. Moreover, temperamental assessment revealed high emotionality and poor sociability in treated thalassaemic children and in their mothers. Physical and psychological domains concerning individual's overall perception of quality of life resulted impaired in mothers of β-thalassaemic children.ConclusionCBFT can be a valid tool to increase the compliance with chelation therapy in β-thalassaemic children; however, treated children continue to show an important emotional burden; moreover, CBFT therapy seems not to have any positive impact on the quality of life of caregiving mothers, who may therefore need additional psychological support.

Risk factors associated with low back pain in mothers of children with cerebral palsy

Introduction: Despite the important contribution of multifaceted risk factors on low back pain (LBP), only few studies have attempted to examine the impact of functional level and environmental factors on LBP in mothers of children with disabilities. Moreover, there has been no previous study investigating the risk factors associated with LBP in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Hence, the present study was to investigate the risk factors associated with LBP in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Patients and methods: A sample of 94 mothers of children attending three pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics at three major medical centers and local community rehabilitation centers for their rehabilitation services were recruited for this study. They were divided into two groups: group 1 (mothers of children with the Functional Independent Measure for Children [WeeFIM] score ≥ 5); and group 2 (mothers of children with WeeFIM score < 5). The independent variables included demographic characteristics of mothers and children, and functional independence levels in children with cerebral palsy as determined by the WeeFIM measurement. The dependent variables entailed level of pain and disability, which were determined by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), respectively. Multiple regression analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), independent t-test, and frequency analysis statistics were performed at P < 0.05. Results: The most important risk factors associated with LBP in the care-giving mothers were type of housing, weight, and locomotion of the children in this order (P < 0.05). The regression equation for locomotion measure was significant (R2 = 0.22; F [3, 94] = 7.43; P = 0.002). The regression equation for weight measure was significant (R2 = 0.22; F [3, 94] = 7.43; P = 0.0 06). The regression equation for the type of housing measure was significant (R2 = 0.22; F [3, 94] = 7.43; p = 0.025). ANOVA revealed that mothers living in multi-unit villas complained of significantly greater pain when compared to the other types of housing (P = 0.037). Independent t-test showed that the group of children who required physical assistance from their mothers for transfer (P = 0.000), locomotion (P = 0.005) and overall WeeFIM score (P = 0.029) showed greater pain in NRS when compared with the controls who did not require physical assistance. Pearson correlation showed that LBP pain in NRS was correlated with the children's transfer (r = −0.23; P < 0.05), locomotion (r = −0.24; P < 0.01), and weight (r = 0.27; P < 0.01) variables, respectively. Frequency analysis of the home environmental factors showed that mothers' care and independence of children in the home were affected by access to the bathroom, entrance, kitchen, and corridors. Adaptive devices that influenced children's independence were in self-care, sphincter control, and locomotion, followed by transfer.

Young caregivers of mothers with HIV: Need for supports

Data from a qualitative longitudinal study of 55 women living with HIV in one Midwestern state reveal that the young children of such women provide vital caregiving for them. The 43 mothers (of the 55 women) in the parent study have 133 living children among them, of whom nearly all were minors when their mothers were first diagnosed with HIV. At data collection, 59 of these children were still aged 18 or under. This qualitative study examines the children of seven of these women by exploring the interview narratives in which they describe caregiving tasks performed by their children. Utilizing research literature from a variety of perspectives on children and caregiving, we examine the different developmental stages of the caregiving children and the impacts of these largely invisible responsibilities on their lives. Finding a dearth of supportive resources available to the children, we speculate about interventions that could appropriately assist them emotionally, developmentally and physically. Legitimation of young caregivers' needs will require wider recognition of caregiving and its social consequences, recognition of the sparse institutional supports that currently assist these children, and creativity in mobilizing stronger informal support systems for individual children and whole families affected by HIV/AIDS.

Stress, Aging, and Resilience: Can Accrued Wear and Tear Be Slowed?

Abstract The impact of stress on age-related physiological capacities (i.e., resilience) is influenced not only by endowed genetic substrate, but also by individual differences, including the frequency of exposure to stress, the nature and intensity of psychological and physiological reactions to stress, and the efficacy of restorative processes that replenish physiological reserves and fortify against future stress (Cacioppo, Hawkley, &: Berntson, 2003). This paper outlines a conceptualization of stress that acknowledges human susceptibility and resistance to the stresses of life and considers the net impact of human frailties and strengths on physiological resilience and health during the aging process. Aging is inevitable. Indeed, one could say it is written into our genes. Cellular biological age is reflected in the gradual shortening of telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that normally prevent cell senescence (Frenck, Blackburn, & Shannon, 1998). Although the relationship between cellular and organismic age is not well understood (Chan & Blackburn, 2003), chronological age is inversely correlated with telomere length in adults across all age groups (Brouilette, Singh, Thompson, Goodall, & Samani, 2003; Cawthon, Smith, O'Brien, Sivatchenko, & Kerber, 2003; Epel et al., 2004). Moreover, stress appears to contribute to cellular aging. For instance, among 20- to 50-year-old mothers who had been caring for a chronically ill child, telomere length in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was inversely related to the duration of caregiving (Epel et al.), even after controlling for mother's age. This finding lends credence to the notion that stress is bad for the organism, and that it contributes to the wear-and-tear on the organism that marks the aging process. The thesis here is that aging is not simply equivalent to accrued exposure to stress, however. In the study referred to above, telomere length did not differ between the group of caregiving mothers and the group of control mothers not subjected to this chronic stress. However, telomere length was inversely related to perceived stress in both groups (Epel et al., 2004). Using established age-related means of telomere length, and controlling for chronological age and body mass index, the authors estimated that the lymphocytes of those in the highest perceived stress quartile were 9-17 years older than those in the lowest stress quartile (Epel et al.). Importantly, however, telomere length is insufficient to index cellular age. Telomere length is regulated by the telomere-protective and lengthening actions of telomerase, a cellular enzyme (Chan & Blackburn, 2003) whose activity decreases under conditions of repeated exposure to antigenic stimuli and with the approach of cellular senescence (Weng et al., 1997). Notably, then, caregiving and control mothers whose perceived stress scores were in the highest quartile not only had shorter telomeres, but also had significantly lower telomerase activity than those in the lowest stress quartile (Epel etal, 2004). These data suggest that, across the spectrum of stressful experiences, the impact of stress on age-related physiological capacities (i.e., resilience) is influenced not only by individual differences in exposure to stress, but also by individual differences in responses to and recovery from stressful experiences. In addition, we maintain that stress effects are influenced by the efficacy of restorative (e.g., anabolic) processes that serve to replenish physiological reserves. Our goal in this paper is to outline a conceptualization of stress that acknowledges not only human susceptibility but also human resistance to the stresses of life, and to consider the net impact of these frailties and strengths on physiological resilience and health during the aging process. Stress is Neither Good Nor Bad The central dogma of stress research has long been that stress is bad. …

Coherence of mind in daughter caregivers of mothers with dementia: Links with their mothers' joy and relatedness on reunion in a strange situation

This paper reports on a small sample (n = 17) of daughter caregivers of mothers with dementia who were interviewed with the Adult Attachment Interview, while their mothers stayed in an adjoining university room. Daughters were then reunited with their mothers, after a one-hour separation. Joyful and related ‘secure’ maternal behaviors, including proximity seeking, contact maintaining and overall responsiveness, were positively correlated with coherence of mind, and coherence of transcript ratings derived from the daughters' AAIs. Controlling for the severity of dementia in the mothers did not alter the power of these associations. Discussion addresses the lifelong significance of reunion behavior, the survival of ‘secure’ attachment behavior even into the late stages of dementia, and the clinical relevance of the Adult Attachment Interview.

The impact of work status on adult daughters' early and future caregiving

This study explores the impact of work status on the provision of adult daughters' caregiving for elderly mothers. The research focuses on both present level of caregiving while mothers are still within the “young” range of elder years and the care daughters anticipate providing in the future. In this research, 103 adult daughters with a mean age of 37 years were interviewed. The participants were primarily White, middle-class women who worked part- or full-time outside the home. Utilizing interview techniques, information was gathered concerning work status, job-related variables, and present and anticipated caregiving. Women employed full-time reported higher levels of early caregiving than those working part-time, while variables relating to adult daughters' accessibility while at work or job flexibility were not significantly related to anticipated caregiving behavior. The significance of these results and the need for future exploration of this area are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Maternal and Paternal Caregiving of Persons with Mental Retardation across the Lifespan

Maternal and Paternal Caregiving of Persons With Mental Retardation Across the Lifespan* Tamar Heller**, Kelly Hsieh, and Louis Rowitz The study compared the objective (time demands and support provided) and subjective dimensions (caregiving burden) of caregiving for fathers and mothers of children and adults with mental retardation living in the family home and in other settings. Also, it examined the extent that characteristics of the child and family and time commitments of both parents affected these outcomes. In comparison with fathers, mothers spent more time providing care, offered more types of support, and perceived more caregiving burden. For both parents out-of-home placement of adults, but not children, was associated with less caregiving burden. The behaviors and health of the offspring had a greater impact on mothers than on fathers. The effects of their own time commitments and their spouse's time commitments on their caregiving experience differed for mothers and fathers. Key Words: burden, caregiving, disability, fathers, lifespan, mental retardation. One of the most consistent findings in family research is that caregiving for relatives with a disability is primarily a woman's role across the life cycle (Hooyman & Gonyea, 1995). However, in the field of mental retardation, few studies have compared the caregiving roles of mothers and fathers across the lifespan. Most of the research addressing this issue has focused on families of young children. This paper will examine maternal and paternal caregiving at different phases of the lifespan. Also, it will examine the impact of characteristics of the child and family and time commitments of both parents on the objective and subjective caregiving burden experienced by the parents. Gender Differences in Caregiving In addition to the explanation that women have been socialized to play nurturant roles, several other explanations have been offered for the greater caregiving usually done by women. The time availability hypothesis explains that women have fewer competing roles and time demands, and hence have more time to provide care. Another explanation, the task specialization hypothesis, is that men and women play different but complementary tasks in the family. Studies of caregiving for elderly relatives have found that employed caregivers provide as many hours of care as those not employed (Cantor, 1983; Soldo & Myllyluoma, 1983), while others have found that employed caregivers provide less assistance (Matthews, Wekner, & Delaney, 1989). In a study that also included male caregivers, Stoller (1983) found that employment affected men's assistance to aging parents, but not women's care to parents. In examining these models among men and women caregivers of older parents, Finley (1989) found that neither the time available nor task specialization explained gender differences in caregiving. In every task category examined, males were less likely than females to provide help, with two areas being statistically significant, help with activities of daily living and cognitive assistance (Finley, 1989). Studies examining caregiving among mothers and fathers of children with disabilities have generally found that parental roles tend to be even more traditional than in families of children without a disability (Cook, 1988). In a study of two-parent families, in which all the women had been employed prior to the birth of their child, Mardiros (1985) found that only 8% of women returned to work after having a child with a disability. Also, when women are employed, they do not receive greater help with household tasks than mothers who are not employed (Marcenko & Meyers, 1991; Willoughby & Glidden, 1995). Fathers of young children with a disability have not been found to provide more instrumental care to their child with a disability than fathers of young children without a disability (Bristol, Gallagher, & Schopler, 1988; Erickson & Upshur, 1989). …