ACQUIRING THE FAMILY ELDERCARE ROLE - INFLUENCE ON FEMALE EMPLOYMENT ADAPTATION

This study examined the influence of eldercare on three types of emplo yment adaptation at two time periods. The adaptations included short-t erm work adjustments, leave of absence, and leaving the workplace at T ime 1, and three months later, at Time 2. The influence of characteris tics of the caregiver, care recipient, family support, and caregiver i nvolvement variables on adaptations was investigated. Women who were e mployed full-time or part-time prior to caregiving reported substantia l changes in that status at Time 1. Caregivers used fewer adaptive emp loyment behaviors at Time 2 than at Time 1. Different sets of predicto r variables were found to influence the types of employment adaptation s at Time 1 and Time 2. Contrary to expectations, the use of short-ter m work adjustments at Time 1 did not influence the probability of a ca regiver taking either a leave of absence or leaving the workplace at T ime 2. Implications for research, practice, and policy are reviewed.