Meeting filial responsibilities in brothers-only sibling groups

This research examined how sons in brothers-only sibling groups meet the needs of their elderly parents.

49 pairs of brothers without sisters whose parents were 74 years of age or older participated in open-ended interviews to explain how their parents' needs were met. Inductive analysis of interviews identified elements of these brothers' approaches.

Brothers were in routine contact with and performed "masculine" services for their parents. Brothers acted independently and expected to be asked rather than volunteering help to their parents, except during times of crisis and transition. They defined their parents as self-sufficient, even when their parents' situations were precarious, and acted to reestablish their parents' independence when it was threatened. They viewed their parents' use of informal networks and formal services as appropriate. Brothers' wives provided "gender-appropriate" services. Wives' levels of involvement appeared to be a function of the quality of their relationships with their parents-in-law. Wives who helped were part of a support network.

Brothers' goals of maintaining or reestablishing independence for their parents matches most parents' wishes to be independent and not to burden their children. The brothers' goal of self-sufficiency for their parents precluded their wives being the sole providers of support to their parents.