How Caregiving Affects Development: Psychological Implications for Child, Adolescent, and Adult Caregivers

"As recent advances in medicine contribute to people living longer and living with chronic illness in the home, the role of the family caregiver is becoming more common. Furthermore, because of varying family structures and living situations, it is not always the parent or adult child who takes on the caregiver role. The traditional role of the adult caregiver increasingly falls on the shoulders of children, adolescents, and emerging adults. In cases where parents are unable to take care of their children, grandparents take on the role of adult caregiver for their grandchildren. A caregiving role at any point in life may affect a person's development and add stressors but also may create rewards that influence the caregiver's identity and well-being." "How Caregiving Affects Development: Psychological Implications for Child, Adolescent, and Adult Caregivers examines these effects using a life span development framework. Each chapter presents theory and empirical research on caregiving during a different phase in the life span, including childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young, middle, and older adulthood. Within the context of the caregiver's life, the chapter authors examine how the role of caregiver affects development."--BOOK JACKET.