Informal Support, Health, and Burden Among Parents of Adult Children With Autism.

Background And Objectives: Many adults with autism spectrum disorders require lifelong reliance on caregiver support. As these caregivers age and experience health challenges, social support can be critical. This study seeks to understand if caregiver health moderates the relationship between informal social support and caregiver burden.

Aging in Place in Every Community: Social Exclusion Experiences of Parents of Adult children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This article offers an examination of aging processes of lifelong caregivers and the possibilities for social exclusion place experienced by parents of adult children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study of parental caregivers ( n = 51) sheds light on how enduring caregiving roles can lead to social exclusion in three ways: misunderstanding of ASD and stigma, the complexity of the caregiving roles, and impact on daily routines including challenges with long-term planning for both the adult children and the parental caregivers. Implications for practice to address social exclusion include education and building greater communication ties among family member for family members and advocacy for more and higher quality services including respite care.

Mediating Effects of Social Support on Quality of Life for Parents of Adults with Autism.

The aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of formal and informal social support on the relationship of caregiver burden and quality of life (QOL), using a sample of 320 parents (aged 50 or older) of adult children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses indicated that caregiver burden had a negative impact on QOL and that informal social support partially mediated the relationship between caregiver burden and parents' QOL. Formal social support did not mediate the relationship between caregiver burden and QOL.

Family Quality of Life Survey (FQOLS-2006): Evaluation of Internal Consistency, Construct, and Criterion Validity for Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Families.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Family Quality of Life Survey (FQOLS-2006) when used with urban families predominantly from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Methods: Data gathered from 193 family caregivers using the FQOLS-2006 were subjected to reliability analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and correlational analyses to test the internal consistency of the scales (reliability), factor structure of the scales (construct validity), and convergence between the long and short versions of the tool (criterion validity).

Results: Internal consistency of the 54-item total FQOL scale was excellent (α = .

Impact of Grandchild Caregiving on African American Grandparents.

The aim of this study was to describe the context and impact of caregiving for grandchildren with health concerns on grandparents. The study sample comprised 391 African American grandparents aged 55 or older. Logistic regression analysis indicated that grandparent caregivers of grandchildren with psychiatric or behavioral problems were more likely to experience a negative impact on their health (AOR = 7.

Go to the hospital or stay at home? A qualitative study of expected hospital decision making among older African Americans with advanced heart failure.

To address the need for more information concerning hospital decision making, we conducted in-depth interviews among African Americans with heart failure and their family caregivers (n = 11 dyads). Using a case scenario, we asked participants about their anticipated hospitalization decisions. Most patients indicated that they would seek care to avoid further deterioration or death from their worsening condition.