The impact of parent care on marital quality and well-being in adult daughters and sons

This study prospectively examined the long-term impact of providing parent care using data from a probability-based U.S. sample of adult daughters and sons who had varying parent care experiences over time (N = 716). Parent care × Gender × Time mixed multivariate analyses of covariance using marital quality and well-being indicators as outcomes showed that, on average, experienced caregivers reported less marital happiness, more marital role inequity, and greater hostility than recent adult child caregivers. Significant three-way interactions indicated that experienced and recent caregiving daughters, respectively, showed an increase over time in depressive symptomatology and long-term depression, whereas their male counterparts showed a decline over the same period. Findings are discussed in terms of gender differences in the relative applicability of the wear-and-tear versus adaptation models of caregiving outcomes.

Title	The impact of parent care on marital quality and well-being in adult daughters and sons
Creator	Bookwala, Jamila
Publisher	Journals of Gerontology: Series B
Academic Department	Psychology
Division	Natural Sciences
Organization	Lafayette College
Date Issued	May 2009
Date Available	2023-05-15
Type	Article
Language	English
Keyword	Prospective study
	Marital quality
	Parent care
	Adult child caregivers
	Depressed affect
Bibliographic Citation	Bookwala, J. (2009 May) "The impact of parent care on marital quality and well-being in adult daughters and sons." Journals of Gerontology: Series B 64B (3): 339-347.
Standard Identifier	DOI 10.1093/geronb/gbp018
Standard Identifier	Handle 10385/p8418p55w
Permalink	http://hdl.handle.net/10385/p8418p55w
Rights Statement	In Copyright
Rights Holders	Oxford University Press