Parent Care as a Developmental Task

Abstract

People in midlife face their own aging as well as the fact that their parents are old and need more care. Confronting these two issues is both a significant developmental task and a presocialization experience for their own old age. The authors report on a support group for midlife adults who needed help relating to aging parents, particularly with regard to caregiving. The study addressed the following questions: How can the group experience enable participants to discuss fears about their own aging? Does it change group members' attitudes toward aging? Does discussion of interactions with aging parents provide new behavioral options for group members? How does caring for aging parents assist in midlife developmental tasks? Misconceptions and fears about participants' own aging were reduced. They experimented with new behaviors in relating to aging parents. Dormant relationship issues with parents reemerged during this period when they had more frequent contact with their aging parents.