Filial Elderly Care from the Perspective of Older Parents and Adult Children: the Role of Attachment and Filial Maturity

Dugotrajna briga za osobe starije dobi u uvjetima demografskog starenja i ograničene dostupnosti javnih izvora skrbi, sve češće se odvija u neformalnim uvjetima, unutar obitelji i kao odgovornost odrasle djece starijih roditelja. Ranija istraživanja pokazuju kako je osobinama odnosa privrženosti roditelja i djece moguće predvidjeti spremnost odrasle djece na pružanje skrbi roditelju u starijoj dobi, ali i sklonost roditelja prema primanju filijalne solidarnosti. Kao odrednica brige za roditelja predložen je u novije vrijeme i konstrukt filijalne zrelosti kojim se opisuje sposobnost odraslog djeteta da sagleda roditelja u razvojnom kontekstu kao pojedinca s ograničenjima, što se odražava u mogućnosti razumijevanja, ali i udaljavanja od roditelja. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati ulogu dimenzija privrženosti kao odrednica očekivanja o budućoj brizi odraslog djeteta za roditelja starije dobi na uzorku ispitanika u ulozi odrasle djece (N=237) i roditelja (N=143). Kod odrasle djece ispitani su i prediktivni efekti filijalne zrelosti na očekivana o brizi. Konačno, istraživanjem je provjerena i povezanost očekivanja o brizi i zadovoljstva životom i odnosom djecom ispitanika roditelja odrasle djece. Za potrebe istraživanja prevedena je Skala filijalne zrelosti te konstruirana Skala očekivanja o brizi te su ispitane njihove psihometrijske karakteristike i faktorska struktura. U oba uzorka, dimenzije privrženosti bile su povezane s očekivanjima o brizi: kod roditelja dimenzija anksioznosti je pozitivan, a izbjegavanja negativan prediktor očekivanja o brizi. Na uzorku odrasle djece dimenzije filijalne zrelosti doprinose objašnjenju očekivanja o brizi za roditelja i nakon kontrole efekata dimenzije privrženosti. Pronađena je djelomična medijacija dimenzije filijalne zrelosti razumijevanja na efekte izbjegavanja na očekivanja o brizi. Zadovoljstvo životom nije povezano s očekivanjima o brizi vlastitog djeteta, koja s druge strane predviđaju roditeljsko zadovoljstvo odnosom s djecom.In the context of the greying society and limited availability of public-health facilities, long term care for the elderly often takes place in an informal family context, by means of filial responsibility. Previous research shows that attachment bonds between older parents and their adult children can predict adult childrens willingness to provide care for the elderly parents as well as the parent's filial solidarity seeking. The construct of filial maturity has recently been proposed as a predictor of filial elderly care. It describes offsprings ability to perceive parents in a developmental context, as individuals with their limitations, resulting in their ability of comprehending as well as distancing themselves from parents. The aim of this study was to investigate how the attachment orientations of adult children (N = 237) and older parents (N = 143) predict future parent caregiving. The effects of filial maturity dimensions (comprehending and distancing) on future caregiving expectations were explored on the adult children sample. Finally, the correlation between caregiving expectations and the evaluation of life and adult child-relationship satisfaction has been tested. For the purpose of this study, the Filial maturity measure was translated and the Caregiving expectations scale was developed. Therefore, one of the aims of this study was to examine their factor structure and psychometric characteristics. In both samples, the attachment dimensions were connected to caregiving expectations: for the parents, the attachment anxiety was a positive, and the attachment avoidance a negative predictor of caregiving expectations. On the other hand, for the adult children, the dimensions of filial maturity had a significant contribution in predicting caregiving expectations, after controlling for attachment dimensions. A partial mediation effect of the comprehending dimension on the negative effects of attachment avoidance on caregiving expectations was found. Life satisfaction was not connected with future caregiving expectations unlike the adult child-relationship satisfaction