MEETING FILIAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN BROTHERS-ONLY SIBLING GROUPS

Objectives. This research examined how sons in brothers-only sibling g roups meet the needs of their elderly parents. Methods. 49 pairs of br others without sisters whose parents were 74 years of age or older par ticipated in open-ended interviews to explain how their parents' needs were met. Inductive analysis of interviews identified elements of the se brothers' approaches. Results. Brothers were in routine contact wit h and performed ''masculine'' services for their parents. Brothers act ed independently and expected to be asked rather than volunteering hel p to their parents, except during times of crisis and transition. They defined their parents as self-sufficient, even when their parents' si tuations were precarious, and acted to reestablish their parents' inde pendence when it was threatened. They viewed their parents' use of inf ormal networks and formal services as appropriate. Brothers' wives pro vided ''gender-appropriate'' services. Wives' levels of involvement ap peared to be a function of the quality of their relationships with the ir parents-in-law. Wives who helped were part of a support network. Di scussion. Brothers' goals of maintaining or reestablishing independenc e for their parents matches most parents' wishes to be independent and not to burden their children. The brothers' goal of self-sufficiency for their parents precluded their wives being the sole providers of su pport to their parents.