WOMENS CAREGIVING - CHANGING PROFILES AND PATHWAYS

This study draws on panel data from a random sample of 293 wives and m others, interviewed in 1956 and 1956, to: (1) examine changes in women 's caregiving experiences across four different birth cohorts, and (2) assess the likelihood of women becoming caregivers. Women born in the late 1920s and early 1930s reported more episodes of caring for membe rs of an older generation,for disabled children, and for more than one person at a time than women born prior to 1926. The percentage of wom en with two or more episodes of caregiving increases significantly fro m the earliest (born 1905-1917) to the most recent cohort (born 1927-1 934). Using event history analysis, we tested tire effects of social s tructural variables and subjective dispositions, as well as the number , duration, and timing of competing roles, on the likelihood of women becoming caregivers. We find that women with more traditional life sty les are more likely to become caregivers; however, potentially competi ng roles, such as employment, do not seem to decrease, and actually ar e positively related to, the likelihood of caregiving. To consider var ious pathways to caregiving, we also conduct subgroup analyses by coho rt and educational level.