CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE - OCCUPANCY IN MULTIPLE ROLES AND HELP TO PARENTS IN A NATIONAL PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF CANADIAN ADULTS

This article considers, for a Canadian national probability sample of middle-aged women and men, the question of how typical is the experien ce of being ''caught in the middle'' between being the adult child of elderly parents and other roles. Three roles are examined: adult child , employed worker, and parent (and a refinement of the parent role, be ing a parent of a co-resident child). Occupancy in multiple roles is e xamined, followed by an investigation of the extent to which adults in various role combinations actually assist older parents and whether t hose who provide frequent help are also those ''sandwiched'' by compet ing commitments. The majority of middle-aged children do not provide f requent help to parents. Notably, the highest proportion of daughters who assist elderly parents are those in their fifties whose children a re no longer co-resident. For both sons and daughters, being ''caught in the middle'' is far from a typical experience in this cross-section al analysis.