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Women of a middle generation and parent care

M G Dautzenberg1, J P Diederiks, H Philipsen

  • 1Maastricht University, The Netherlands. M.DAUTZENBERG@MEDSOC.UNIMAAS.NL

International Journal of Aging & Human Development
|April 13, 1999
PubMed

This article addresses women who are caring for both parents and children, the so called sandwich generation or women-in-the-middle. Gerontological studies on this topic reflect controversies on the concept as well as on the size of the phenomenon. Our study attempts to demonstrate empirically to what extent middle-aged women respond to the care demands of both the generation ahead as well as the generation behind them. A population-based sample among women aged forty to fifty-four in the Netherlands (N = 933) is utilized. The study indicates the prevalence of women-in-the-middle and presents analyses of their socio-demographic characteristics as well as of patterns of parent care. Further, the potential for a cross-cultural comparison between the Netherlands and other countries is discussed regarding parent care as a normative experience and the chances of middle-aged women getting "caught" between care demands from two generations.

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