Family networks caring for dependent elderly people: influence of employment and marital status of sons and daughters

Abstract

Our study addresses the care that children provide to the elderly, taking as a unit of analysis the support networks where they are framed. The objective is twofold: to investigate in their strategies to reconcile said dedication with employment, and in how the labor and family circumstances of each one condition their participation in the care. In its development we use qualitative methodology, specifically semi-structured interviews to obtain information and Grounded Theory to analyze it. The results show that, although responsibility is shared, the employment status of the siblings determines their contribution to parental care. They also collect common strategies to combine employment and care, such as the sacrifice of the professional career or the search for external support to the family, as well as the leading role that people who are in single situations usually assume. Within mixed networks, we also find that there are still gender differences.