Dementia Caregiving in the Context of Late-Life Remarriage: Support Networks, Relationship Quality, and Well-being

Caregiving research has not accounted for increasingly diverse and complex marital and family histories of older Americans. The authors examined social relations and care-specific positive and negative support networks among late-life remarried wife dementia caregivers (N = 61) to determine associat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marriage and family 2013-10, Vol.75 (5), p.1149-1163
Main Authors: Sherman, Carey Wexler, Webster, Noah J., Antonucci, Toni C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
aging
Aging (Individuals)
Caregivers
caregiving
Caring
Death
Dementia
Elderly
Family (Sociological Unit)
Family relations
Interpersonal Relations
Marriage
Older Adults
Older people
Parent Child Relationship
Quality
Quality standards
Remarriage
Senility
Social Networks
Social support
Social Support Groups
SPECIAL SECTION—Stepfamilies in Later Life
Stepfamilies
Stepfamily
Support Networks
Values
Well Being
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Summary:Caregiving research has not accounted for increasingly diverse and complex marital and family histories of older Americans. The authors examined social relations and care-specific positive and negative support networks among late-life remarried wife dementia caregivers (N = 61) to determine associations among network structure, relationship quality with and support received from network members, and global assessments of family and stepfamily disagreement on caregiver well-being. Own family and friends predominated in the social relations and positive networks. Although over half (54%) of respondents included a stepfamily member in their positive networks, stepchildren comprised the largest group (35%) in the negative networks. Larger negative networks and actively negative interactions were related to greater caregiver burden, and more global disagreement with stepfamily was associated with greater depression and burden. The findings illustrate the complex nature of support and the value of targeted examinations of caregiving support dynamics among late-life remarried older adults and stepfamilies facing health demands.
ISSN:0022-2445
1741-3737
DOI:10.1111/jomf.12059