Dairies Reveal Stress, Declining Health in Children
Caring for Their Elderly Parents
Those who believed in personal growth, mastery and
self-acceptance experienced fewer negative consequences
Sept. 22, 2008 Even though it makes logical sense
that carrying for an elderly parent will take a terrible toll on the
caregiver, researchers continue to study it. The latest study is unique
in that it studied diaries that examined the stresses of daily life in
conjunction with helping a parent. They not only noted the consequences,
however, they also discovered ways caregivers can make life easier.
Results clearly suggest a downward trajectory of
health and well-being among midlife adults helping an elderly parent,
according to Jyoti Savla, assistant professor of human development and
gerontology at Virginia Tech, team leader of the researchers.
The accumulation of small and large daily
stressors such as work deadlines, PTA meetings, supporting family and
friends as well as providing routine assistance to a parent living
outside ones house can build up, said Savla.
Sooner or later, they can spill over into other
areas of life with negative mental and physical consequences. Days when
help is provided to parents are more stressful than days when it is
not.
Half of all individuals who provided help to
parents did so on two or more days each week. Most individuals who
provided help to parents were also juggling multiple roles each day,
which could lead to conflicts between the roles, or feeling overloaded.
In addition to helping parents, most individuals spent nearly five hours
on work-related activities, two hours on work in their own household,
with about 10 hours for sleep, leisure and exercise.
Sen. Kohl promises legislation to expand, train, and
support all sectors of the health care workforce, including doctors,
nurses, direct care workers, and family caregivers
Savla and her colleagues found that several
personal characteristics could decrease the experienced conflict and
demands on time, such as having a spouse and higher education.
Those who believed in personal growth, mastery, and
self-acceptance experienced fewer negative consequences in providing
help to parents.
Programs that specifically target the everyday care
events that are stressful for baby boomers are likely to be most
beneficial.
By building on an understanding of individuals
experiences, this approach could make daily life easier for older and
the individuals who support them and prevent the depletion of care
resources, said Savla.
Editors Notes:
The researchers detailed their findings in a paper
Routine Assistance to Parents: Effects on Daily Mood and Other
Stressors, published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of
Gerontology: Social Sciences, a journal of the Gerontological
Society of America.
The authors are Savla, David M. Almeida, Steven H.
Zarit (Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State)
and Adam Davey (College of Health Professions, Temple University). The
data came from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), a large
national daily diary study, which is a part of the National Survey of
Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) carried out under the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Network for Successful
Midlife Development.
This research was supported in part by a National
Institute of Mental Health Training Grant to Savla and a MacArthur
Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development and
National Institute on Aging Grant awarded to Almeida.
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boomers
Sept. 22, 2008 Even though it makes logical sense
that carrying for an elderly parent will take a terrible toll on the
caregiver, researchers continue to study it. The latest study is unique
in that it studied diaries that examined the stresses of daily life in
conjunction with helping a parent. They not only noted the consequences,
however, they also discovered ways caregivers can make life easier.