Family care of impaired elderly: a role theory approach

To understand the behaviour of family members who take care of their impaired parents, a role theoretical model is presented. The model defines three dimensions of human behaviour for assessing the behaviour of role-incumbents. These three dimensions are indicated by the questions: What should be done? What is one willing to do? What can be done? This heuristic model is applied to the caring behaviour of adult children towards their impaired parents. Within each dimension a number of variables are specified and for each of them the scattered research findings of many recent studies in this area have been summarized and integrated. It seems justified to consider the model a useful guide for future research on family care of the elderly.