Journal of Women & Aging Women in the Middle ...

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May 19, 2015 - Elaine M. Brody, Journal of Women & Aging, 27:4, 355-357, DOI: .... ing the Brookdale Award of The Gerontological Society of America (1985), ... of Human Resources and Associate Director of Research at the Philadelphia.
This article was downloaded by: [Monash University Library] On: 21 August 2015, At: 06:23 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG

Journal of Women & Aging Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjwa20

Women in the Middle: Their Parent-Care Years by Elaine M. Brody ab

Melissa Petrakis PhD a

Lecturer, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Caulfield Campus, P.O. Box 197, Caulfield East VIC 3145 Australia b

Senior Research Fellow (Early Psychosis and Mental Health), Mental Health Service, St Vincent’s Hospital (Melbourne), Hawthorn Community Mental Health Centre, 642 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East 3123 Australia Published online: 19 May 2015.

Click for updates To cite this article: Melissa Petrakis PhD (2015) Women in the Middle: Their Parent-Care Years by Elaine M. Brody, Journal of Women & Aging, 27:4, 355-357, DOI: 10.1080/08952841.2015.1022100 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08952841.2015.1022100

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Journal of Women & Aging, 27:355–357, 2015 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0895-2841 print/1540-7322 online DOI: 10.1080/08952841.2015.1022100

Book Review

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Elaine M. Brody. (2003). Women in the Middle: Their Parent-Care Years (2nd ed.). Springer Series on Lifestyles and Issues in Aging. New York, NY: Springer Publishing, 400 pages. This is an interesting, moving, and stimulating text. It is interesting due to the universality of the content: We will all age ourselves, face the aging of people we love and how that compromises their capacities in some ways, and we will all engage in care or be cared for by others at some points in our lives. The text is moving as a result of the richness of the qualitative data collected and how it is shared—both in terms of unique case studies and also through a thematic analysis of key messages in and aspects of the caregiving role that need to be considered by families, services, and governments. The text is stimulating since it draws from the existing literature but does not fall back on preconceived notions of and assumptions about caregiving. The book is named Women in the Middle as both statement of fact and gentle provocation to rethink whether this needs to be uncontestedly so, particularly when one considers the mental health, social, economic, and societal implications. Research from the mid-1960s to today has indicated that the majority of care and support of disabled older people in the community is carried out by families, and within families that work is predominantly carried out by women. These women are in the middle of their lives and in the middle of care duties for both their own children and aging parents. The prevailing (gendered) contemporary cultural expectations are powerful and deserve a text of this length (371 pages) to conceptualize and contend with how these are internalized and perpetuated. The text documents the negative consequences of the burden of care: emotional strain—with symptoms including depression, anger, anxiety, frustration, guilt, demoralization, feelings of helplessness, irritability, lowered morale, and emotional exhaustion; physical effects—including lifting injuries such as back problems and stress-related illnesses such as ulcers; and financial strains—medical and hospital bills, in-home nursing, respite, and lost earnings through leaving jobs or working reduced hours (pp. 48–55). It also richly evokes the personal rewards that can be found in caregiving: a meaningful role, a sense of competence and being a responsible person, approval and admiration from others, and enhanced self-esteem (pp. 102–103). 355

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Book Review

After the case studies, there is a useful description on diversity among caregivers that captures the tone of the book as a whole (p. 251):

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The interviews recorded were not designed to identify “pathology” or to delve deeply into the historical relationship patterns and psychodynamic processes that were at work. The purpose of identifying the themes and patterns is to stimulate professionals to a more complete understanding of the various processes, to think about some of the solutions to any problems that may exist, and to explore relatively unexplored frontiers in order to point the way to helping approaches that could alleviate much suffering.

The expertise of the author, Elaine M. Brody, should be particularly noted in any discussion of this text; it is evident in the erudition of the work. She has been Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and Adjunct Associate Professor of Social Work in Psychiatry in the School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She is a past president of The Gerontological Society of America (1980). Since that time she has been given numerous awards, including the Brookdale Award of The Gerontological Society of America (1985), the Donald P. Kent Award of The Gerontological Society of America (1983), and the Distinguished Alumni Award of the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work (1982). She was, for many years, Director of the Department of Human Resources and Associate Director of Research at the Philadelphia Geriatric Center. She has been elected a Distinguished Scholar of the National Academies of Social Work Practice. She was a member of the Congressional Advisory Panel on Alzheimer’s Disease and of the Brookings Institution Advisory Panel on Long-Term Care and has testified many times before Committees of the United States House of Representatives and the Senate. Her publications include six books, many book chapters, and over 200 journal articles. She has directed 18 federally financed research studies on subjects including: Individualized Treatment of Mentally Impaired Aged; Mental and Physical Health Practice of Older People; The Dependent Elderly and Women’s Changing Roles; Women, Work, and Care of the Aged; Parent Care, Sibling Relationships, and Mental Health; and Martial Status, Parent Care, and Mental Health. This text should be compulsory reading for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in courses preparing them to embark on careers in the helping professions—social work, psychology, occupational therapy, medicine, and nursing. It would additionally be of value to paraprofessionals, disability and community workers who have an interest in or desire for the development of a greater depth of information to inform their approach to work with individuals and families with complex needs with whom they work at close quarters in homes and residential settings.

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Book Review

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Melissa Petrakis, PhD Lecturer Department of Social Work Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Monash University, Caulfield Campus P.O. Box 197 Caulfield East VIC 3145 Australia E-mail: [email protected] And (concurrent affiliation) Senior Research Fellow (Early Psychosis and Mental Health) Mental Health Service, St Vincent’s Hospital (Melbourne) Hawthorn Community Mental Health Centre 642 Burwood Road Hawthorn East 3123 Australia E-mail: [email protected]