Helping Children of Aged Parents Achieve Filial Maturity

Abstract

Clinical nurse specialists working for a county nursing home made preadmission home visits as one of their functions to determine individuals in need of placement. The elderly were prioritized with the use of a rating scale according to their need for 24-hour nursing care. These home visits helped to identify certain problems in the aged. It was evident that the identification and possible resolution of some of these problems depended on the accomplishment of the developmental task of filial maturity on the part of the children, or on the children understanding that they can no longer depend on their parents but, rather, that their parents may need them (Blenkner, 1965). This article suggests that nurses working in the community should assess the elderly's middle-aged children for their level of filial maturity. It is also suggested that the accomplishment of this developmental task can clearly help families identify the appropriateness of nursing home placement or life in the community with support from area resources.