CULTURAL-DIFFERENCES IN CAREGIVING MOTIVATIONS FOR DEMENTED PARENTS -KOREAN CAREGIVERS VERSUS AMERICAN CAREGIVERS

The study examined differences in motivations for parent care of Korea n caregivers and Caucasian American caregivers of elderly parents with dementia. A number of American caregivers, mostly daughters of the de mented parents, had affectionate relationships with their parents, but they expressed a relatively low degree of filial responsibility. In c ontrast, among Korean caregivers, the care of demented parents was pre dominantly the responsibility of daughters-in-law who were less likely to have affectionate relationships with the parents-in-law. However, Korean caregivers expressed a significantly higher level of filial res ponsibility than the American caregivers. Some cultural differences be tween the two ethnic groups associated with parent care were discussed .