The Gerontologist, Vol 31, Issue 3 389-396, Copyright © 1991 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Relationships between caregiving daughters and their elderly mothers

AJ Walker and KR Allen
Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331.

In this qualitative study of 29 pairs of widowed mothers and their caregiving daughters, we employ social exchange theory to identify three relationship types: intrinsic (45%), ambivalent (34%), and conflicted (21%). These types differ in the extent to which the women receive rewards from interacting with their partner, experience costs in their interaction, handle conflicts that arise in their relationship, and express feelings of concern for each other. They also differ in that daughters in intrinsic pairs have fewer children and shorter caregiving histories than daughters in ambivalent or conflicted pairs.

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