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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until May 10, 2027

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The Impact of Multigenerational Caregiving on the Health and Wellbeing of U.S. Adults and Their Children

Li, Qi
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650458558092179

Abstract Details

2022, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Sociology.
Due to shifting demographic trends in the United States, including delayed fertility, longer average life expectancies, and sustained reductions in social welfare programs, multigenerational caregiving has become increasingly prevalent. A growing number of midlife adults now belong to the “sandwich generation” as a result of dual obligations providing simultaneous care to dependent children and aging parents. Despite these recent trends, research on the impact of multigenerational caregiving, particularly as it relates to health and wellbeing, remains limited. To fill this knowledge gap, my dissertation uses six consecutive waves of nationally representative, prospective cohort data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NSLY79) and the corresponding young adult survey (NLSY79-YA) to examine the effects of multigenerational caregiving on various aspects of health and wellbeing among multiple generations of family members. The first empirical chapter investigates the relationship between multigenerational caregiving and physical health among midlife women. Regression results differ substantially by race. Sandwiched caregiving predicts fair/poor self-rated health for Latinx women but not their White or Black counterparts. In the second empirical chapter, I estimate the extent to which multigenerational caregiving influences the probability of marital dissolution and find that this relationship depends on gender and socioeconomic status (SES). Specifically, the likelihood of marital dissolution for sandwiched caregivers decreases as household income increases for men but not women. In the third empirical chapter, I ask if and how parental multigenerational caregiving is associated with psychological functioning among adolescent, young adult, and adult children. Regression results suggest that maternal multigenerational caregiving is negatively associated with depression for adolescents but positively associated with this outcome for adult children. These findings, taken together, illustrate that the potential impact of multigenerational caregiving on the American family is complex and highly dependent on other key social statuses.
Cynthia Colen (Advisor)
Kristi Williams (Committee Member)
Rin Reczek (Committee Member)
Sociology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Li, Q. (2022). The Impact of Multigenerational Caregiving on the Health and Wellbeing of U.S. Adults and Their Children [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650458558092179

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Li, Qi. The Impact of Multigenerational Caregiving on the Health and Wellbeing of U.S. Adults and Their Children. 2022. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650458558092179.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Li, Qi. "The Impact of Multigenerational Caregiving on the Health and Wellbeing of U.S. Adults and Their Children." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650458558092179

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1650458558092179
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.