English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

The study examined the influence of adult children’s family size, stage in family life cycle and income on the provision of care to elderly parents among adult children working in University of Calabar, Nigeria. The cross-sectional study adopted a purposive sampling technique to select 350 consenting respondents. Family size was operationalized as the total number of children in the household consisting of the number of children still living in the house and those who are outside but still dependent on the respondent for some form of support. Stage in family life cycle was operationalized as the distribution of children in each education level (nursery, primary, secondary and higher institution) according to age range of adult children. Adult children income was measured as income of the respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi square test of significance. Findings revealed a significant relationship between adult children’s family size and provision of care to the elderly. The more the number of children in the household within the indicated age ranges of adult children, the less the amount of care given to the elderly. Although income of adult children was not a significant predictor of provision of care given to elderly parents, the measured financial responsibility of adult children in respect of the number of children in the household still dependent on them for some form of support, indicated by the number of children in various levels of schooling, inversely affected adult children’s care of elderly parents. Keyword: elderly, family size, family life cycle, income, Calabar Introduction Population ageing globally is a rising development concern, and it is becoming crucial for sustainable development to address ageing and issues of older persons as it has implication for rise in health cost because of the different health conditions associated with aging (González et al., 2011) amongst other things. The number of older persons aged 60 and over in Africa is projected to increase from the 2007 figure of 50.5 million to 64.5 million in 2015, and reach 205 million by 2050. This projection represents a population increase at an annual rate 3.3 per cent between 2015 and 2050 (UNDESA, 2007). Nigeria, the DOI: 10.36108/NJSA/4102/12(0140) Influence of Adult Children’s Family Size 63 most populous country in Africa currently has the highest number of elderly population with an estimated figure of 8.8 million which accounts for 5.3 per cent of an estimated total population in 2012 (UNFPA/Help Age International, 2012). The traditional notion still prevails that the extended family, with its structures and patterns of group solidarity and blood ties, would render virtually insignificant any problem associated with ageing. The general belief is that the family is a support system and that kinship ties to family members, especially children, guarantee assistance (Apt, 1993). This assumption of caregiving as an exclusively culturally oriented, systematic and learned behaviour has been posited by traditional development theories of Sociology: [i] Structural Functional perspective, which argues that caregiving behaviour by adult children is systematically learned and developed through socialization and internalization of cultural norms, [ii] The Role Theory perspective, which argues that caregiving is a normative requirement and social role prescription; and [iii] Exchange Theory perspective, which posits that care of the elderly by adult children is based on the norms of reciprocity and filial obligation. All the paradigms postulate that the adult children owe society and their parents, provision of services and the social values and the norms of society confer legitimacy on the moral rights of elderly parents to such services. By these assumptions, these classical theories cannot adequately explain social change and the influence of non-cultural variables on care of the elderly. Although childhood socialization is crucial as normative determinant of caregiving behaviour and most adult children have internalized the cultural norms of reciprocity, and are obligated to take responsibility of caring for their elderly parent, adult children caregivers are often raising families of their own and pursuing careers while at the same time are helping elderly parents. Demographic, economic and social trend suggests that adult children may be facing a declining capacity to provide the kind of care the elderly parents’ needs (Rosenmayr, 1993). In the current debate on the care of elderly in Nigeria, and the traditional and moral persuasion of family to undertake obligatory responsibilities, relatively nothing has been discussed about adult children’s situational exigencies which determine their responsiveness and capacity to provide services needed by elderly parents. The quality, capacity and responsiveness of adult children to provide care therefore cannot be divorced from the multichallenges faced by adult children that could determine caregiving behaviour. This study is aimed at investigating the factors of adult children’s family size, stage in family life cycle and income as non-cultural variables influencing caregiving behaviour of adult children. Care of elderly as used in this study is defined as the unpaid services that adult children provide to adult parents which is of importance to the continued survival of the elderly parents. The Nigerian Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 12 no. 1 64 Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework adopted for the purpose of this study is Symbolic Interaction and Phenomenology perspectives, the proposition that adult children care of the elderly parents is an Act of Decision making. The benefits of the shift in paradigm from care of the elderly as normative action and developmental behaviour learnt through socialization to caregiving as an Act of Decision making based on symbolic interaction and Phenomenology perspective allows the development of an expanded hypothesized relationship between family size, stage in family life cycle and income of the adult children and provision of services to elderly parents. The willingness, responsiveness and the capacity of adult children to provide care is explained within the context of their situational exigencies and the variables which influence their situated judgment. This framework recognizes the flexibility and adjustability within the normative operations which helps to overcome the theoretical tendency to categorize self-interest and situational conditions as divorced from and even antithetical to values and norms (Lidz, 1972). The results of various studies of adult children’s help to parents tend to be different or inconsistence and many times such differences are related to background variables. Cicirelli (1981), Shanas (1979), Townsend (1968), Horowits (1985) and Stone et al. (1997) also corroborate the above opinion that the socioeconomic status of the family appears to be an important factor in determining adult children care to elderly parents. Pearlin et al. (1990) further suggested that socio-economic characteristics of caregiving are likely to specify the care giving environment and subsequently affect the degree of care. However, some researchers reported that higher economic status is a sufficient prediction of higher and not lower care giving burden (Caro et al., 1984). They maintain that middle class adult children tend to provide more financial aid (money, gift, loans) while working class adult children provide more services, they also suggested that this is partially influenced by the fact that lower class adult children tend to live closer to their elderly parents. Rosser and Harris (1965) argued that kinship is an evolving process with roles and relationship changing as the family passes through its cycle of development. They indicated that the nature and extent and direction of assistance given by adult children to elderly parents will alter overtime as the domestic and personal circumstances of parents and children shift and change. They also pointed out that as children approach old age dependency on children increases. Cicirelli (1981) reported that there is a pattern of mutual dependency between adult children and elderly parents depending on the stage of the family life cycle. In some cases at higher social economic levels, elderly parents, she maintains, continue to provide help to adult children when parents now attained advanced age, as they go into infirmity with loss of rigour, possible disability, loss of income after retirement or a combination of factor, the balance shift and adult children provide greater amount of care to elderly parents. Influence of Adult Children’s Family Size 65 Methodology The descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. The University of Calabar was selected as the study area for the researcher’s convenience which permitted close monitoring and because the population of workers is cosmopolitan and represents a way of life for millions of adult Nigerians from the 36 states and the federal capital territory working within and outside their states of origin. Purposive sampling was adopted to select 350 adult children (male and female) workers in the University of Calabar aged 29-71years with at least one living parent. Respondents represent both academic and non-academic staff of the institution selected from Faculties of Arts and Humanities, Natural and Applied Science, and Agriculture. Others units included were the Institute of Education, College of Medicine, Central Administration Departments and Graduate School. A questionnaire elicited information on the socio-economic conditions of the adult children, number of children in the household, number of children in each level of education, and the form of help provided by adult children to elderly parents. Help provided by adult chi

Influence of Adult Children’s Family Size, Family Life Cycle and Income on Care of Elderly Parents in Nigeria