Caregiving and Social Support: A Twenty-first Century Challenge for College Students

Abstract

This study adopted a caregiving perspective to analyze college students’ supportive relationships (N=266). With respect to the provision of care, female caregivers engaged in more difficult types of hands-on support than male caregivers, and data suggested that college caregivers are differently challenged by the life stage of the person for whom they provide care. With respect to students’ reception of social support, both main and interaction effects were found for sex, care giving status, and locus of control. Discussion focuses on the developmental nature of caregiving skills, social support reciprocity, and implications of these findings for public policy and human communication research.

Keywords:

• Caregiving
• Social support
• Sex differences
• Locus of control

Notes

Deborah Dysart-Gale (PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 1999) is Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater and Phil Haven (BA) is also at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ray Baus

Deborah Dysart-Gale (PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 1999) is Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater and Phil Haven (BA) is also at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.