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Journal of Aging and Health
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Adult Children and Their Parents' Expectations of Future Elder Care Needs

Helga S. Walz, PhD

University of Baltimore, Maryland, hswalz{at}ubalt.edu

Thomas E. Mitchell, PhD

University of Baltimore, Maryland

Objective: Lifestyle changes and medical advances warrant an investigation into perceptions of elder care needs held by today's adult children (AC) and their parents. Method: Surveys were distributed to 200 AC. Eighty AC and 102 of their parents responded. Results: Paired sample t tests revealed that AC (M = 10.61, SD = 4.5) and parents (M = 10.4, SD = 4.60) did not differ in their own expectations of future care needs. However, ACs' expectations of their parents' needs (M = 15.82, SD = 5.77) were significantly higher than both self-expectations. In addition, among six caregiving tasks minimal but significant differences were found in expected receipt of assistance. Discussion: Consistent with Weinstein's (1980) theory of unrealistic optimism, results demonstrated the tendency for AC and parents to underestimate their own future care needs. Such underestimation may in turn, lead to inadequate planning for future care needs.

Key Words: elder care • expectations of future care needs • unrealistic optimism

Journal of Aging and Health, Vol. 19, No. 3, 482-499 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0898264307300184
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