title: Assessing filial maturity through the use of the Filial Anxiety Scale.
abstract: This study was an investigation of a late-in-life stage of development known as filial maturity (Blenkner, 1965). The Filial Anxiety Scale (Cicirelli, 1988) was used in a cross-sectional design to assess whether the filial anxiety of adult caregivers of aging parents varied in a manner consistent with Blenkner's concept. Results clearly supported Blenkner's position that there is a late-in-life period of development during which some individuals experience heightened levels of filial anxiety, or a filial crisis, prompted by the caregiving demands of an aging parent. This crisis is then followed by a significant decrease in anxiety and results in the attainment of a developmental period characterized by filial maturity.
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007063:Identity Crisis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010553:Personality Development; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results