Family Caregiving: Long-Term Paper

Reactions of Elders to the Care Given by their Offspring As Cited by Touhy and Jett (2016), “In the United States, multigenerational families have grown by approximately 60% since 1990 and 1 in 6 Americans live in a multigenerational household” (p. 467). Although, cohabitation among older parents and their children is more common in some cultures than others, “family relationships remain strong in old age, and most older people have frequent contact with their families” (Touhy & Jett, 2016, p. 468).
In recent years, the family structure of cohabitation has been fueled for the most part, by economics and of older adults living longer than before. According to Liu and Bern-Klug (2016)

The growth of the oldest old population is likely to be accompanied by an increase in the need for long-term care, and if current expectations prevail, families will provide the majority of care despite the current development of residential long-term care options. Finding ways to support family caregivers is imperative at the individual, family and societal levels” (p. 303). …show more content…
In China, for example, as discussed by Liu and Bern-Klug (2016) families are expected to care for their elders. The social value of filial piety dictates that children respect, support, and care for their parents in old age by providing for their physical and emotional needs. Thus, “filial care plays an important role for elderly parents facing health challenges” (Johar & Maruyama, 2011, p. 87). Although intergenerational cohabitation has been practiced in the past, its continuance at the present social context is significant where the elderly “live longer with disability, resources and infrastructures for aged care are extremely limited, and public support systems, such as pension and health insurance, are underdeveloped or absent” (Johar & Maruyama, 2011, p.