Perceptions of Caregivers of Elderly Parents by College Students:

Abstract

College students (144 females and 96 males) evaluated a briefly depicted stimulus person on 31 7-point bipolar scales that described personality traits, job performance characteristics and role overload variables. Each participant rated one of eight employed married adults who was described as either female or male, eithcr providing care for an elderly mother ("primary caregiver") or hiring someone to provide such care ("secondary caregiver"), and as having two children who either still lived or no longer lived at home. Women were viewed as experiencing more role overload than men. Primary caregivers were perceived as experiencing more role overload, as being less job-oriented, and as being more nurturant than secondary caregivers.