"You really do something useful with kids": mothering and experienced health and illness in a group of elderly Swedish women.
This article is based on in-dept interviews with 20 elderly Swedish women, and deals with mother's child-caring work and related health and illness. Mothering included invisible work as well as physically heavy tasks, both aspects often neglected in research. The attitude of the children's father had a great impact on the work. Feelings of success or failure at bringing up their children affected the women's experience of health/ill health throughout their lives. Their health as elderly women depended on the health and happiness of their, now adult, children.
Forssén
Annika S K
AS
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Family Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. annika.forssen@nll.se
Carlstedt
Gunilla
G
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D019513:Feminism; D005783:Gender Identity; D006240:Happiness; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology