Hispanic Familism in Caretaking of Older Adults

The role of familism in elderly adults has been professed to be the central institution in their lives. Though, Hispanic caretakers have provided high levels of informal care, it is the purpose of this paper to give evidence that current under utilization of formal services by the Hispanic family has dysfunctional side-effects. Reliance solely upon informal familial support increases dependency upon children which has been correlatcd with depression. Reliance also perpetuates a cycle of poverty as children's economic opportunities are sacrificed due to caregiving. Ideas for how to effectively intervene in this self-destructive pattern are suggested.