Relation and filial care in old age: contributions of filial anxiety

Article Sidebar

DESARROLLO PSICO-SOCIOEMOCIONAL DE LA EDAD: PSICOLOGÍA POSITIVA Y BIENESTAR EN LAS PERSONAS MAYORES
PDF (Português (Portugal))
Published: Oct 28, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2016.n2.v1.570
Keywords:
informal caregivers filial care filial anxiety filial maturity

Main Article Content

Carla Faria
Instituto Politecnico de Viana do Castelo - Escola Superior de Educação

Abstract

One of the consequences of an aging society is the growing need for caregivers, particularly informal caregivers. Research suggests that older adults care needs are becoming increasingly a responsibility of adult children. In this context, concepts such as filial maturity and filial anxiety are very useful because they allow us to understand the changes that occur in the relationship aged parents-adult children. Research in this field has gathered evidence that suggest the relevance of filial anxiety for filial care, as it plays an important role in the availability and quality of care provided and it may in advance constrain the ability of the caregiver to provide care. In this context, this study aims to (1) assess filial anxiety in middle-aged Portuguese adult children and (2) explore the relationship of filial anxiety with characteristics of the informal caregivers. Participated in the study 130 adults, aged between 35 and 64 years (M = 50.25, SD = 7.97), with at least one elderly living relative, that were assessed with the Filial Anxiety Scale. The results suggest that women have higher levels of filial anxiety, as well as the less educated adults. These results go in the same direction of the international literature in the field, which seems to strengthen the role of filial anxiety in the quality of filial relationship in adulthood, with strong implications for informal caregivers and for the elderly.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Faria, C. (2016). Relation and filial care in old age: contributions of filial anxiety. International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology. Revista INFAD De Psicología., 1(2), 251–256. https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2016.n2.v1.570
Issue
Vol. 1 No. 2 (2016): PSICO-SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE AGE: POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND WELFARE IN THE ELDERLY
Section
Articles
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
 
a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms:

 

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.

 
b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
 
c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
 
The authors are responsible to obtain the appropriate permissions to reproduce material (text, images or graphics) from other publications and to quote their origin correctly.
 

References

Blenker, M. (1965). Social work and family relations in later life with some thoughts on filial maturity. In E. Shanas & G. F. Streib (Eds.), Social structure and the family: Generational relations (pp. 46-59). New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Blieszner, R. (2006). Close relationships in middle and late adulthood. In A. Vangelisti & D. Perlman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of personal relationships (pp. 211–227). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Bradley, S., Miller, J., Murtha, B., Parkinson, J., & Horst, S. (2008). Filial anxiety among adult children: An exploratory study of planning behaviors. Praxis, 8, 37-45.

Cicirelli, V. (1981). Helping elderly parents: Role of adult children. Boston: Auburn House.

Cicirelli, V. (1988). A measure of filial anxiety regarding anticipated care of elderly parents. The Gerontological Society of America, 28, 478-482.

Cicirelli, V. (1993). Attachment and obligation as daughter’s motives for caregiving behavior and subsequent effects on subjective burden. Psychology and Aging, 8, 144–155.

Fingerman, K. L., Pitzer, L., Lefkowitz, E. S., Birditt, K. S., & Mroczek, D. (2008). Ambivalent relationship qualities between adults and their parents: Implications for both parties’ well-being. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 63, 362–371.

Laditka, S., & Pappas-Rogich, M. (2001). Anticipatory caregiving anxiety among older women and men. Journal of Women & Aging, 13 (1), 3-18.

Murray, P., Lowe, J., Anderson, H., Horne, H., Lott, W., & Macdonald, S. (1996). Validity studies of the filial anxiety scale. The Gerontologist , 36, 110-112.

Myers, E., & Cavanaugh, J. (1995). Filial anxiety in mothers and daughters: Cross-validation of Cicirelli's Anxiety Scale. Journal of Adult Development, 2, 137-145.

Schultz, C. L., & Schultz, N. C. (1998). The caregiving years. Melbourne, Australia: ACER.