Gender Differences in Caregiving: A Case in Chinese Canadian Caregivers

ABSTRACT

This study examines the gender differences in Chinese-Canadian family caregivers providing care to elderly Chinese care receivers. A random sample of 339 Chinese-Canadian caregivers for elderly care receivers completed a telephone survey. Most of the Chinese family care-givers were females. No major gender differences were reported in the amount and types of caregiving tasks. The level of caregiving burden and predictors were generally similar for both gender groups. Contrary to common belief that sons and daughters-in-law are the key family caregivers in the Chinese culture, the daughters played a more important role in family caregiving. In addition to providing support and services to Chinese female caregivers, strategies to enhance Chinese males' involvement in family caregiving are needed and discussed in the paper.     

A feminist model of family care: practice and policy directions

Using a feminist perspective, this article examines women's experiences in caring for older family members with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Central to this analysis are the concepts of the social construction of gender-based inequities in caring, the interconnections between generations of women as givers and receivers of care, and variations in family care by gender, race, ethnicity, social class and sexual orientation. The authors critique current practice interventions and policies and purpose models for the elimination of gender-based inequities in caregiving and the provision of caregiver choice and empowerment for women and men, including feminist models of practice with women caregivers and economic and long-term care supports.     

Caregiving system in transition: An illustration from Shanghai,China

Population aging, the diminution of family networks, and increasing demands for care create a substantial burden for the current family-based system of caregiving for the elderly in Shanghai. Using existing data, we explore recent and future changes in demographic composition, family structure, and elderly needs in Shanghai, and evaluate how these changes affect the care of the elderly. Within this context, we also describe the current caregiving system and discuss its limitations. Finally, we propose an improved caregiving system that features a greatly expanded role of the community, but maintains an integral role of the family as caregivers. We also outline two strategies that might be followed in the development of this new system.     

The Gendered Division of Labor in Parental Caretaking:

Public ideology dictates that families take responsibility for the care of their frail and vulnerable members. Women more than men are the unpaid, informal caregivers of family members. This gendered division of labor is examined by using the U.S. Survey of Income and Program Participation. Differences between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan sons' and daughters' parental caregiving activities are examined in order to contrast areas having more traditional, conventional or conservative values with those adopting more feminist values. Results show that in addition to daughters performing the vast majority of tasks, there is a difference between the types of care provided by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan daughters. Nonmetropolitan daughters tend to perform more caregiving tasks considered to be traditional "women's work" while metropolitan daughters perform significantly more tasks considered to be nontraditional for women. The fmdings suggest that providing care is due more to socialization to gender roles than to women's supposed natural or biological tendencies for "nurturing."     

Family Location and Caregiving Patterns from an International Perspective

We conduct a cross‐national econometric analysis of intra‐family location and caregiving patterns. Using European data, we first assess, from an international perspective, the relationship between family structure and the geographic proximity between adult children and their parents. We then examine whether differences in family structure are related to the amount of informal care adult children provide to their elderly parents. Lastly, we look for cross‐country differences in family location and caregiving patterns, and interpret observed differences in terms of heterogeneous institutional solutions to elderly care. Our results not only provide a new empirical perspective on the geography of the family, but also provide insights into how family‐related and institutional factors shape patterns of time transfers from adult children to elderly parents.     

Anticipatory caregiving anxiety among older women and men

This study, based on a sample of 221 older women and men, explores factors associated with anticipatory caregiving anxiety using a scale developed by Cicirelli (1988). Results show that even the anticipation of providing care evokes anxiety. We find that women have higher levels of anxiety than men, individuals who have served as caregivers have higher levels of anxiety than individuals who have never provided care to family members, and that individuals who are in better health and have more income have lower levels of anxiety than those with less health or income. Implications for services to support caregivers and long-term care reform are discussed.     

How Women in Late Midlife Become Caregivers for Their Aging Parents

Approximately 52 million Americans provide informal (unpaid) care to a family member or friend who is disabled or ill. The most common informal caregiving relationship is that of an adult child providing assistance to an aging parent. This article describes a qualitative study examining how adult daughters between the ages of 50 and 65 become caregivers to their parent or parent-in-law. Data were collected through in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 15 female caregivers. Analysis revealed that assistance provided to parents was initiated by one or more triggering event, after which participants became caregivers in either an emergent or deliberate manner.     

Women as Family Caregivers:

Informal elder care is typically a women's issue. Elder-care problems frequently lead to burnout because of increasing longevity, advanced medical technology, changes in family life, gender role expectations and nature of formal caregiving services available (difficult to access, limited and expensive). Ultimately caregiver burnout is a result of culture lag, a lack of fit between changes in the material culture and conditions of life, and the nonmaterial aspects of culture (values, norms, etc.). To assist family caregivers both govemment and business must change family care and health care policies.     

A Feminist Model of Family Care: Practice and Policy Directions

SUMMARY

Using a feminist perspective, this article examines women's experiences in caring for older family members with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Central to this analysis are the concepts of the social construction of gender-based inequities in caring, the interconnections between generations of women as givers and receivers of care, and variations in family care by gender, race, ethnicity, social class and sexual orientation. The authors critique current practice interventions and policies and purpose models for the elimination of gender-based inequities in caregiving and the provision of caregiver choice and empowerment for women and men, including feminist models of practice with women caregivers and economic and long-term care supports.     

Grandparenting and Cognitive Functioning in China

Caring for grandchildren provides grandparents an opportunity to sustain an active lifestyle and remain socially engaged in older age. Studies have examined the association between providing care to grandchildren and grandparents’ cognitive function. However, these studies had several limitations and yielded mixed findings. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, this study examined the longitudinal association between caregiving and cognitive functioning in grandparents aged 50–75 years. Grandparents’ caregiving status and cognitive functioning were assessed in 2011, 2013, and 2015. Random-effects and fixed-effects regression models were estimated and compared. The full sample (20,000?+?person-year observations) was divided into four subgroups to examine gender and rural–urban variations. Being a part-time noncoresident caregiver was associated with higher scores on episodic memory for grandfathers but not for grandmothers. Compared with their noncaregiving counterparts, rural part-time multigenerational caregiving grandmothers had significantly better mental intactness and global cognitive functioning, while rural full-time noncoresident caregiving grandmothers had significantly better episodic memory. Caregiving status was not associated with any cognitive measure among urban grandmothers. Taken together, these findings suggest that Chinese grandparents enjoy cognitive benefits from providing casual or intensive care to grandchildren, but these benefits vary substantially by gender and rural–urban status.

     

Grandparents providing care for grandchildren and employment status of grandparents in South Korea

This study examines the association between providing care for grandchildren and the economic status of grandparents, focusing on the employment status. This study asks two questions. First, is providing care for grandchildren related to Korean grandparents’ employment status? Second, are the intensities of providing care for grandchildren related to grandparents’ employment status? In examining these research questions, this study focuses on gender and caregiving intensity. The findings suggest that providing care for grandchildren was associated with Korean grandmothers’ employment status. In addition, there are different relationships between providing care for grandchildren and grandparents’ employment status according to the caregiving intensities.     

Through gendered lens:explaining Chinese caregivers' task performance and care reward

The Chinese cultural norm of xiao, or filial piety, has long been held responsible for the practice of familial caregiving for older parents. Yet few explore the gendered nature of such a cultural practice in the current changing economic dynamics. Using data collected in 1997-1999 from 110 Chinese caregivers who were caring for physically dependent elder parents, this researcher explores the influence of changing economic conditions and Chinese cultural values in caregiver task performance and reward. Findings suggest that Chinese caregiving is highly gendered: Women are more likely to be unemployed and provide more personal care than men; sons are not more likely than daughters to provide financial assistance for parents. Chinese cultural values are playing an important role sanctioning caregiver task performance. Caregivers who believed in patrilocal norms provided more financial assistance; caregivers who reported higher social pressure provided more personal care. While the caregivers' report of social pressure is positively related to the caregivers' performance in personal care tasks, it is negatively related to caregiver reward. The author further explores the gendered implications for the changing economy and culture in China.     

The Psychological and Health Consequences of Caring for a Spouse With Dementia: A Critical Comparison of Husbands and Wives

Caring for someone with dementia can be demanding, particularly for spouses living with the care recipient. The main goal of this study was to clarify differences in the experience of caregivers who were husbands and wives with respect to burden, health, healthy behaviors, presence of difficult care recipient behaviors, social supports, and the quality of the premorbid relationship. The results of this study support research demonstrating a difference between the caregiving experiences of women and men. It is becoming increasingly apparent that female gender is a marker that places them at increased risk of high burden and less support.     

Daughters-in-Law as Caregivers: How and Why Do They Come to Care?

ABSTRACT

This exploratory qualitative study examines the family dynamics and socio-structural factors which explain how and why some women become caregivers to in-laws. As well, it explores prevailing attitudes about care by in-laws. Material is drawn retrospectively from three previous studies of caregivers in Montreal, Quebec, including 10 semi-structured interviews with daughters-in-law and 72 interviews with spousal and child caregivers. An exploratory framework of the factors which are determinant in becoming a daughter-in-law caregiver is proposed which includes such elements as: social and cultural norms regarding family responsibility for eldercare; social and cultural norms regarding the place and the rights of the elderly; rules of family relations, couple dynamics, gender dynamics and family availability.     

Beliefs and expectations of family and nursing home care among Mexican-origin caregivers

This study examined perceptions of family care, nursing homes, and expectations of future care among 85 Mexican-origin women caregivers, some who lived in Mexico City and some who lived in East Los Angeles, California (East LA). Attitudes of Mexican-born women—living in Mexico City and in East LA—were more similar to each other than those of U.S.-born women. Most caregivers reported a preference for family care and had negative views of institutional care. In addition, despite the negative views about nursing homes, some caregivers expressed a willingness to seek nursing-home care for themselves so as to avoid burdening their children in the future. Findings lend support to the persistence of Mexican cultural values in this sample of Mexican-origin caregiving women, regardless of where they were born.     

Health expectancies in Japan: gender differences and policy implications for women

Based on prospective observation of elderly people in the community in Japan, we compared the time-course of development and progression of physical disability between women and men. Men experienced disability at a younger age and at a faster rate than did women. The duration of time spent with disability in women was twice as long as in men. Consequently, women consume about two-thirds of the total resources of formal caregiving services in Japan. Women in Japan are increasingly educated, postponing marriage to higher ages, and less likely to care for parents in the home. Given these changes in family structure and social norms, the capacity for informal family caregiving has decreased dramatically. A recently enacted national long-term care insurance system may further change the picture of caregiving.     

农村妇女对子女的效用预期与其男孩偏好的关系

文章利用中国人民大学2010年相关调查数据从经济、照料和文化三个方面分析了我国农村地区妇女对孩子未来效用的总体预期和分性别预期,以及这种预期效用的性别差异与人们的强性别偏好之间的关系,并得出以下结论:随着经济社会的发展和人口流动的频繁,人们目前对子代的养老效用预期在经济和居住方面已经很低,但在生病照料和赡养、传宗接代方面期望依然很高;人们对男孩和女孩的预期各有侧重,依然体现了传统的"男主外,女主内"的性别认知;人们对孩子效用预期的性别差异与人们的性别偏好呈显著正相关,尤其体现在老年照料、赡养责任和传宗接代等方面,代际经济支持已经不再是影响人们男孩偏好的重要原因。     

中国老年人隔代照料与 健康后果的实证研究及政策思考

在中国家庭代际关系的研究中,隔代照料这一选题极为重要,隔代照料也是老年和家庭福利政策制定的重要影响因素。老年人隔代照料与健康问题日益受到国内学者的关注,但对两者相关性的深入实证考察较少,仅有的研究也未就隔代照料产生的健康后果达成共识,政策应对亦存局限。为此,本文基于2014年中国老年社会追踪调查(CLASS)截面数据,探讨中国老年人照料孙子女对自身健康产生的后果及几个主要变量之间的交互作用,对其进行量化研究并通过稳健性检验。研究得出三项基本结论:隔代照料的健康后果受到照料强度、子女特征、居住模式及老年人自身罹患慢性疾病状况的影响,在不同的特征状况下呈现不同的健康结果;照料者受教育程度、照料者性别、健在子女数等变量间的交互作用对被解释变量(照料者健康)产生了不同程度的调节作用,成年子女向上的代际支持也对老年照料者的健康发挥了调节作用;使用工具变量(照料者是否享受老年优待政策)进行因果识别在一定程度上克服了解释变量与被解释变量间的内生性问题。最后,本文基于上述实证研究的结果从代际关系视角、社会性别视角和老年婚姻社会功能等方面提出公共政策的应对思考,以期为制定相应的老年和家庭福利政策提供策略和依据。     

Role Ambiguity Among Women Providing Care for Ex-Husbands

Twenty-one women were interviewed regarding their caregiving experiences for ill or dying ex-husbands. Emergent in the analyses was the variety of ways in which they experienced role ambiguity as ex-wife caregivers. This article describes the role ambiguity ex-wife caregivers encountered interpersonally through interactions with network members, institutionally in dealing with professionals and the workplace, and intrapersonally in confusion over their roles and feelings. Consequences of role ambiguity are discussed, and recommendations for policy and practice are made in light of the aging population, changing family forms, and women's care roles.     

儿子和女儿对高龄老人日常照料的比较研究

本文利用2002年中国老年人健康长寿调查数据,对比分析了在家庭中居住的高龄老人由儿子或女儿提供日常照料的可能性。研究发现,高龄老人的日常照料中存在明显的性别差异,高龄老年人有接受来自同性别子女帮助的倾向。