The Vicious Cycle of Parental Caregiving and Financial Well-being: A Longitudinal Study of Women.
OBJECTIVE
This study examines the relationship between caring for older parents and the financial well-being of caregivers by investigating whether a reciprocal association, or vicious cycle, exists between female caregiver's lower household incomes and caring for elderly parents.


METHODS
Data for women aged 51 or older with at least 1 living parent or parent-in-law were drawn from the Health and Retirement Survey 2006, 2008, and 2010 (N = 2,093). A cross-lagged panel design was applied with structural equation modeling.


RESULTS
We found support for the reciprocal relationship between parental caregiving and lower household income. Female caregivers were more likely than noncaregivers to be in lower household income at later observation points. Also, women with lower household income were more likely than women with higher household income to assume caregiving at later observation points.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that there exists a vicious cycle of parental care and lower household income among women. A key concern for policy is female caregivers' financial status when care of older parents is assumed and care burden when women's financial status declines.
Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. yeonjung.lee@ucalgary.ca.
Yeonjung
Y
Lee
School of Social Work.
Fengyan
F
Tang
Department of Psychology in Education, School of Education, and.
Kevin H
KH
Kim
Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Steven M
SM
Albert
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D032721:Adult Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D014481:United States
Female caregivers; Financial well-being; Parental care; Reciprocal relationship.