Caring for frail elderly parents: a comparison of adult sons and daughters

This research examines the impact of various factors on perceived emotional strain of adult son and daughter caregivers of frail elderly parents. Daughters experienced higher levels of emotional strain than did sons. Perceived interference between caregiving and the caregiver's personal and social life predicted emotional strain for both sons and daughters. For daughters the most important predictors of emotional strain were interference with work and quality of relationship with the parent. For sons the most important predictors were behavioral problems of the parent and few informal helpers.