Relieving feelings of strain among women with elderly mothers.
I hypothesized that feelings of strain experienced by an adult daughter are likely to interfere with the nature of her relationship with her aging mother and to have a potentially deleterious effect on the mother. To test this proposition, I devised a study that examined the impact of two brief interventions on 37 middle-aged women and 24 of their elderly mothers: (a) a cognitive-behavioral presentation designed to reduce the daughter's unrealistic feelings of responsibility and (b) a supportive-educational presentation designed to increase the daughter's awareness of her mother's needs. I found that the first procedure was more effective than the second in reducing the daughter's burden, improving the mother-daughter relationship, and decreasing the loneliness experienced by the elderly mother.
Scharlach
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AE
School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90089-0411.
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008132:Loneliness; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012847:Single Person / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support