title: Deciding to institutionalize: caregiving crisis, intergenerational communication, and uncertainty management for elders and their children in Shanghai.
abstract: This phenomenological study integrated crisis theory, social identity theory, and uncertainty management theory to conceptualize the decision-making process around institutionalization among nursing home residents and their children in Shanghai. I conducted face-to-face, semistructured interviews with 12 dyads of matched elders and their children (N = 24). The findings suggest that caregiving crises triggered intergenerational communication about caregiving alternatives and new arrangements, although each generation had different stances and motivations. Children finalized the decision by helping their parents to manage the uncertainties pertaining to institutionalization. This study sheds light on caregiving decision-making dynamics for the increasing aging population across cultures.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Social Welfare , University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles , California , USA.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003142:Communication; D003657:Decision Making; D005195:Family Relations / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016901:Intergenerational Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: caregiving crisis; decision-making; family caregiving; filial piety; intergenerational communication; nursing home care; uncertainty management; urban China