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ERIC Number: ED229675
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1982-Nov
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Turning the Tables on Assistance: Elderly as Care Providers.
Prohaska, Thomas R.; McAuley, William J.
Past attention has focused on the role of the elderly as recipients rather than receivers of help. To examine the proportion and characteristics of older community residents involved in care-giving, data used were from the 1979 "Statewide Survey of Older Virginians," aged 60 and older (N=2,146). Of the 10 types of helping activities studied, 5 were viewed as social or interpersonal support activities, and 5 were more directly related to recipients' health or physical well-being. The results revealed that nearly half of the respondents provided one of the 10 types of assistance, and the most frequent types of help were in the social/interpersonal category, e.g., checking in, transportation, personal advice. More young-old (ages 60-74) than old-old adults reported helping others, and there was an association between fair to poor life satisfaction and the provision of physical health-related services. The findings suggest that the elderly are an important resource for many in-home services, with women, younger elderly, and those with good to excellent daily living skills being the major contributors of assistance. (WAS)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Virginia State Dept. of Welfare, Richmond.; Virginia State Dept. of Aging, Richmond.
Authoring Institution: Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Richmond.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society (35th, Boston, MA, November 19-23, 1982).