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Aging parents and their middle-aged children: demographic and psychosocial challenges.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of an extended lifespan of parents on middle-aged women and men from a demographic, sociological and psychological perspective. Based on Swiss data, three main research questions are investigated and discussed in three different sections: (a) How far has the common lifespan of children and parents been extended and how does it affect kinship structures? (b) How accurate is the term of "sandwich generation" in this context? (c) Which are the psychological concomitants-in terms of filial maturity-of being reinvolved with one's old parents in mid-life? The demographic analyses illustrate a considerable extension of common lifespan of children and parents. Combined with low fertility rates this results in rapidly increasing parent-support ratios. A sociological approach analysing the concept of "sandwich generation" indicates that, for women, a new kind of double burden (professional work and family care) is more widespread than being 'sandwiched' between the youngest and the oldest generation. Finally, in the third section, results are reported from a longitudinal study of middle-aged persons living in different social contexts (such as living or not living with a partner and/or children) on the intrapsychic concomitants of becoming reinvolved with one's parents. The response patterns reveal a considerable intergenerational ambivalence. Although the possibility to help old parents depends heavily on living context and is a question of available resources, the willingness to help is also closely related to psychological variables such as attachment.

SUBMITTER: Perrig-Chiello P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5546344 | biostudies-other | 2005 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Sleep misperception has long been a major issue in the field of insomnia research. Most studies of sleep misperception examine sleep underestimation by comparing the results of polysomnography conducted in a laboratory environment with patients' sleep diary entries. We aimed to investigate psychosocial characteristics of adults who underestimated or overestimated sleep time in a nonclinical, middle-aged community-dwelling population. We collected one week of sleep data with wrist-worn accelerometers. We used egocentric social network analysis to analyze the effects of psychosocial factors. Among 4,060 study participants, 922 completed the accelerometer substudy. Underestimation was defined as an accelerometer-measured sleep time ≥ 6 h and a subjective sleep time < 6 h. Overestimation was defined as an objective sleep time < 6 h and a subjective sleep time ≥ 6 h. Psychosocial characteristics of the sleep misperception group were evaluated using multivariate regression analysis. A total of 47 participants underestimated sleep time, and 420 overestimated sleep time. Regression analysis revealed that women, living with spouse, economic satisfaction, and bridging potential had protective effects against sleep underestimation. Blame from a spouse involved a 3.8-times higher risk of underestimation than the control group (p = 0.002). In men, discussing concerns with a spouse had a protective effect against underestimation (p < 0.001). Economic satisfaction, feeling social network-based intimacy, and support from a spouse were associated with overestimation in women. In men, feeling social network-based intimacy was also associated with overestimation (p < 0.001). We found that social relationship quality was related to sleep overestimation and underestimation. This association was marked in women. Good social relationships may have positive effects on sleep misperception via attenuation of negative emotional reactions and effects on emotional regulation.

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Aging parents and their middle-aged children: demographic and psychosocial challenges.

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