Dautzenberg M G, Diederiks J P, Philipsen H, Tan F E
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Sociology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
Women Health. 1999;29(4):57-74. doi: 10.1300/J013v29n04_04.
This article investigates whether being a caregiver of an elderly parent and the caregiver's involvement in multiple roles increases distress in middle-aged women. Previous studies assumed that providing care to frail parents causes distress in women, in particular when they have other social roles as well. Longitudinal data were collected within a cohort of middle-aged women (n = 934; n = 743). The acquisition or loss of the caregiver role did not appear to affect levels of distress of middle-aged women, nor did additional roles of caregivers increase distress levels or caregiver role strain. Most distressed were women not performing any major social role, suggesting that the lack of social roles rather than the multiplicity of roles is associated with distress. The caregiver role might even reduce distress when women have very few other roles. Findings are explained in terms of the role scarcity, the role expansion and role accumulation hypotheses of role theory.
本文探讨作为老年父母的照料者以及照料者参与多种角色是否会增加中年女性的困扰。以往研究认为，照料体弱的父母会给女性带来困扰，尤其是当她们还承担其他社会角色时。在一组中年女性（n = 934；n = 743）中收集了纵向数据。照料者角色的获得或丧失似乎并未影响中年女性的困扰程度，照料者的其他角色也未增加困扰程度或照料者角色压力。最困扰的是没有履行任何主要社会角色的女性，这表明缺乏社会角色而非角色的多样性与困扰有关。当女性几乎没有其他角色时，照料者角色甚至可能减轻困扰。研究结果根据角色理论的角色稀缺、角色扩展和角色积累假说进行了解释。
