Monday, November 25, 2013
Understanding the expectations of a population cohort could help policymakers determine funding priorities. In "Baby Boomer Caregivers: Care in the Age of Individualization," published in a recent issue of The Gerontologist, Canadian researchers examine "how Baby Boomers in Quebec, Canada, perceive and play their role as caregivers and how this might differ from their parents’ generation." The study highlights the potential for Quebec's history of social services and the modern emphasis on careers for women to impact willingness of family members to assume at-home caregiving roles for spouses or parents:
"Indeed, in Quebec, the Baby Boomers have fully participated in the redefinition of the parental and grandparental structure by involving the (welfare) state as a “partner” in the distribution of services to the family.... Thus, Quebec caregivers like our participants differ from previous generations through the way they assume their caregiver identity as one among many social identities and refuse to define themselves only through their role as a caregiver. They say that they can do so thanks to their integration into the labor market coupled with the existence of public services."
The U.S. may not view itself as being a "welfare state," but is it likely that American Baby Boomers will have similar expectations about supportive social services?