Sandwich generation

Background: The number of informal caregivers over the age of 50 who care for multiple family members including children and elderly relatives – a practice termed 'double care' – has steadily increased in Asian countries. Despite the rise in depression and stress among such caregivers, few studies have examined factors that may mitigate their emotional exhaustion.

With increasing life expectancy, changes in family structure and, most recently, the relaxation of the hitherto strict family planning policies, understanding how mid-life individuals support multiple generations, particularly their older parents and younger grandchildren, is of increasing research and policy significance in China.

When the normal progression of life for an aging person is interrupted by a decline in physical and or mental abilities, adult children are often suddenly faced with assuming care of their parent(s). Currently, adult child caregivers of aging parents work up to 100 hours per month at caregiving. Most existing literature is focused on informal caregivers, which can consist of spouses, relatives, and friends' caregiving for persons with debilitating illnesses. Despite the amount of time dedicated to parental caregiving, little is known about the experience of this exclusive caregiver group.

Despite rising legal claims, little research has examined discrimination against job applicants or employees because of their family caregiving responsibilities. Across three studies, we examine discrimination in hiring and starting salary decisions among equally qualified job applicants based on their elder, child, or sandwiched caregiving responsibilities. In study 1, primary caregiving parents were less likely to be hired, were offered lower salaries, and were rated as less competent, committed, available, and agentic, compared to non-primary caregiving parents.

The term sandwich generation refers to the middle-aged generation who are responsible for caring elderly parents and dependent children. This situation is worse in case of working women who have job obligations along with family responsibilities. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate level of the four-dimensional work-family conflict among working women of the sandwich generation. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 90 Malaysian working women using self-reported data.

Background Nearly 50 million Americans provide informal care to an older relative or friend. Many are members of the "sandwich generation", providing care for elderly parents and children simultaneously. Although evidence suggests that the negative health consequences of caregiving are more severe for sandwiched caregivers, little is known about how these associations vary by sociodemographic factors.