Attitudes toward spousal caregiving and their correlates among aging women

The study examined the attitudes of elderly Israeli women (n = 259) toward three aspects of spousal caregiving: commitment to caregiving, perceived ha rmful effects, and delegating responsibility to others. In addition, the st udy examined the contribution of several variables toward explaining these attitudes: background variables, equality in marital relations, spousal res ources, and affective variables. The findings indicate that on the whole, c ommitment to care for the spouse was most prevalent, while perceived harmfu l effects and delegating responsibility to others were emphasized less. Of the independent variables examined, equality in dyadic relations explain ed all three aspects of caregiving. Moreover, women with high levels of emo tional hardiness were less likely to delegate responsibility for caregiving . In addition, a negative relationship was found between anticipated depend ence on the husband and the wife's tendency to delegate responsibility for caregiving. Finally, the affective variables (satisfaction with life and ma rital complaints) contributed significantly toward explaining attitudes tow ard spousal caregiving. (C) 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights rese rved.