Routine Support to Parents and Stressors in Everyday Domains: Associations With Negative Affect and Cortisol

Adult children are involved a myriad of roles including providing routine (non-caregiving) support to a parent. Yet we know little about whether providing routine support to a parent is stressful and whether it has any associations with stressors in other life domains.

We use daily diary data (N = 127; Study Days = 424) from the National Study of Daily Experiences to determine whether providing routine support to an older parent is associated with higher negative affect and salivary cortisol.

Results confirm that providing routine support and experiencing stressors at work were independently associated with negative affect and greater cortisol output. Stress reactions were not amplified, however, on days when adult children concurrently provided support to a parent and reported work stressors. Cutting back usual activities at work or home elevated negative affect but were not associated with an upsurge of cortisol production.

Findings lend support to the caregiving career framework for understanding even casual routine assistance provided to a parent.