TY - JOUR
T1 - "It should have been happening to me"
T2 - The psychosocial issues older caregiving mothers experience
AU - Raveis, Victoria H.
AU - Pretter, Sheindy
AU - Carrero, Monique
N1 - Funding Information:
This study has been funded by grants from the Department of Defense, Breast Cancer Initiative, DAMD17-00-1-0215 and the New York State Breast Cancer Research and Education Fund, NYS DOH C017945.
PY - 2010/3
Y1 - 2010/3
N2 - The occurrence of cancer is an event of significant importance to family functioning. The present analysis reports on an understudied group profoundly affected by this health event: older mothers caring for an adult child with cancer. As part of a study of breast cancer survivors and their family caregivers, a subsample (N = 13) of older caregiving mothers (mean age 68) participated in focused interviews. The interviews, conducted in English or Spanish, were audio-taped, transcribed, and subjected to content analysis. Analyses of the mothers' accounts elucidate complex psychosocial reactions to their adult daughters' cancer diagnosis that are informed by life-cycle considerations. These reactions, which include a reawakening of maternal behavior, a need to come to terms with the asynchronous nature of their daughters' health event, and an intense feeling of personal responsibility, illustrate the need for family-centered care in oncology.
AB - The occurrence of cancer is an event of significant importance to family functioning. The present analysis reports on an understudied group profoundly affected by this health event: older mothers caring for an adult child with cancer. As part of a study of breast cancer survivors and their family caregivers, a subsample (N = 13) of older caregiving mothers (mean age 68) participated in focused interviews. The interviews, conducted in English or Spanish, were audio-taped, transcribed, and subjected to content analysis. Analyses of the mothers' accounts elucidate complex psychosocial reactions to their adult daughters' cancer diagnosis that are informed by life-cycle considerations. These reactions, which include a reawakening of maternal behavior, a need to come to terms with the asynchronous nature of their daughters' health event, and an intense feeling of personal responsibility, illustrate the need for family-centered care in oncology.
KW - Adult daughters
KW - Breast cancer
KW - Caregiving
KW - Family centered
KW - Mother-daughter relationship
KW - Parent caregiver
KW - Personal vulnerability
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U2 - 10.1080/10522150903503002
DO - 10.1080/10522150903503002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77949562139
SN - 1052-2158
VL - 13
SP - 131
EP - 148
JO - Journal of Family Social Work
JF - Journal of Family Social Work
IS - 2
ER -