Eliza Pavalko, IU professor of sociology, and Shari Woodbury, a graduate student and research assistant, studied data collected over a two-year period from nearly 3,000 women between the ages of 50 and 65. These findings also suggest caution for those considering policy changes that would increase the responsibility of family members and reduce formal support for care.
Emotional distress appears to increase as years spent care-giving increase.
Contrary to their expectations, the researchers did not find a similar accumulation of physical limitations over the care-giving period. This finding suggests that women may adapt physically to care-giving over time. Although the impact of care-giving on physical health was less pronounced than that on emotional health, the researchers found that physical health problems were more likely to necessitate finding replacement sources for care. Employed women were the least likely to experience physical limitations as a result of care-giving, which suggests that certain characteristics of this group distinguish it from others. Inc. This news story is not produced by the American Psychological Association and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the association.