How widowhood shapes adult children's responses to mothers' preferences for care.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
OBJECTIVES: We examine whether recently widowed mothers who needed assistance for a chronic condition, serious illness, or injury were more likely to receive care from the children they preferred as caregivers than were mothers who were divorced or had been widowed for a longer period of time. METHOD: Data were analyzed from 130 widowed or divorced mothers aged 72-83 in the second wave of the Within-Family Differences Study, all of whom reported needing assistance for a chronic condition or a serious illness or injury within 2 years prior to T2. RESULTS: The findings provided evidence that recent widowhood shapes patterns of caregiving. Analyses revealed that mothers who had been widowed within 4 years were substantially more likely to receive care from adult children whom they had identified several years earlier as preferred caregivers than were mothers who were divorced or had been widowed 4 or more years. DISCUSSION: Research has shown that mothers are at an increased risk for declining psychological well-being when caregiving preferences are not met. Findings from this study suggest that mothers who are divorced or have been widowed for several years may be at greater risk for violation of their caregiving preferences, increasing their vulnerability to declines in psychological well-being.
