Families' Values and Attitudes Regarding Responsibility for the Frail Elderly

• DOI: 10.1300/j031v18n03_05
• Publication Date: 2008-12-29T19:01:50Z
• Authors: Nancy Guberman; Éric Gagnon; Jean-Pierre Lavoie; Hélène Belleau; Michel Fournier; Lise Grenier; Aline Vézina
• Keywords: Adult; Aged, 80 and over; Male; Aging; Canada; Adolescent; Social Values; Health Services for the Aged; Frail Elderly; 05 social sciences; Public Policy; Middle Aged; Home Care Services; 0506 political science; Cohort Studies; Attitude; Socioeconomic Factors; Humans; Disabled Persons; Family; Female; Aged

This study examines the norms and values associated with care to disabled and frail aging parents, in particular those with regard to the sharing of responsibilities for care between families and formal services, and this within three age cohorts in Quebec, Canada. It is based on a telephone interview of 1,315 people. Factor analysis yielded four factors: (1) family responsibility; (2) uncompromising family obligations; (3) acceptance of services; (4) distrust of services. Analyses of the data indicate that all three age cohorts consider that families have responsibilities for their aging family members, at the same time that they score very high on the acceptance of service scale. This article discusses these seemingly paradoxical results and their implications for aging policy.