Adult children and their parents' expectations of future elder care needs.
OBJECTIVE
Lifestyle changes and medical advances warrant an investigation into perceptions of elder care needs held by today's adult children (AC) and their parents.


METHODS
Surveys were distributed to 200 AC. Eighty AC and 102 of their parents responded.


RESULTS
Paired sample t tests revealed that AC (M = 10.61, SD = 4.5) and parents (M = 10.4, SD = 4.60) did not differ in their own expectations of future care needs. However, ACs' expectations of their parents' needs (M = 15.82, SD = 5.77) were significantly higher than both self-expectations. In addition, among six caregiving tasks minimal but significant differences were found in expected receipt of assistance.


CONCLUSIONS
Consistent with Weinstein's (1980) theory of unrealistic optimism, results demonstrated the tendency for AC and parents to underestimate their own future care needs. Such underestimation may in turn, lead to inadequate planning for future care needs.
Walz
Helga S
HS
University of Baltimore, Division of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 1420 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. hswalz@ubalt.edu
Mitchell
Thomas E
TE
D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children; D000368:Aged; D005544:Forecasting; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D014481:United States