Planning and Emotional Health of Abused Adult Children Caregivers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore markers associated with the advance-planning patterns and emotional health of adult child caregivers pre-selected for their history of childhood abuse within the family. An informational decision grid and two classification procedures were used to organize and link 246 written plans of 50 adults providing nearly 6 hours of care per day to a cognitively impaired parent. Results revealed 3 constellations of plans describing hands-on person-centred, instrumental, and grief-based approaches to caregiver planning. The 31 participants taking an instrumental approach to planning were significantly more likely than the 17 taking a grief-driven approach to report experiences of abandonment, betrayal, suicidal ideation, and use of alcohol. The 2 participants taking a person-centred approach reported significantly less emotional arousal and risk for loss of health and did not recount experiences of distress or emotion-focused coping. Nurses can use the findings to highlight and strengthen the decision-making and parental-care capacities of caregivers traumatized in childhood.