Potential and active family caregivers: Changing networks and the "sandwich generation"

Informal family care giving has been a traditional mainstay of care for the frail elderly. As the Baby Boomers approach retirement and old age, it is not clear that society can continue to rely on informal arrangements. The 1 984 and 1994 National Long Term Care Surveys were used as sources for exami ning changes over a decade in the population of chronically disabled elderl y, their sources of care, and the characteristics of family caregivers. The results showed that although the total number of active family caregivers declined, a constant number of primary caregivers was looking after recipie nts who were more severely disabled. Members of the "sandwich generation" a nd full-time workers maintained or even increased their participation as pr imary caregivers. The competing demands confronting these caregivers and th e higher disability levels among care recipients probably contributed to th e growing pattern of reliance on formal care, a situation that is likely to continue.