Sandwich Generation
The Sandwich Generation: A Review of the Literature
LeaAnne DeRigne, MSW, PhD, Stephen Ferrante, MSW
ABSTRACT Many Americans balance dual caregiving responsibilities for both children and aging family, dubbed the “sandwich generation.” Between 1 out of 8 and 1 out of 11 households with an adult aged 30 or older is comprised of dual-earner, sandwiched generation couples. There are psychological, physical, employment, and financial outcomes of balancing multiple caregiving duties. The literature shows positive benefits for caregivers too. A review of literature in the past 30 years, citing only U.S.based studies is summarized in this paper. Policy, clinical, and research implications are included. It is possible that multigenerational caregiving responsibilities will continue to rise for the children of baby boomers as life expectancies continue to go up, people continue to have children later in life, and continue to support those children to older ages. Policy and clinical supports must be put into place to facilitate the highly necessary and valuable caregiving responsibilities of this population.
Florida Public Health Review, 2012; 9, 95-104.
Background Many Americans are balancing dual caregiving responsibilities for both children and aging family members. Researchers have named this population the “sandwich generation” because they have both child rearing and aging family member caregiving responsibilities (Miller, 1981). The baby boom generation, between the ages of 45-55 years old, is often the focus of research on this population but it can impact any person of any generation as they balance multiple caregiving roles across generations. Sometimes the caregivers are referred to as the squeezed generation or stretched generation. The real sandwich occurs when people manage the demands of many different responsibilities and roles in their lives including those of parent, caregiver to an elder, and an employee (Keene & Prokos, 2007). Several demographic
LeaAnne DeRigne, MSW, PhD, Stephen Ferrante, MSW
ABSTRACT Many Americans balance dual caregiving responsibilities for both children and aging family, dubbed the “sandwich generation.” Between 1 out of 8 and 1 out of 11 households with an adult aged 30 or older is comprised of dual-earner, sandwiched generation couples. There are psychological, physical, employment, and financial outcomes of balancing multiple caregiving duties. The literature shows positive benefits for caregivers too. A review of literature in the past 30 years, citing only U.S.based studies is summarized in this paper. Policy, clinical, and research implications are included. It is possible that multigenerational caregiving responsibilities will continue to rise for the children of baby boomers as life expectancies continue to go up, people continue to have children later in life, and continue to support those children to older ages. Policy and clinical supports must be put into place to facilitate the highly necessary and valuable caregiving responsibilities of this population.
Florida Public Health Review, 2012; 9, 95-104.
Background Many Americans are balancing dual caregiving responsibilities for both children and aging family members. Researchers have named this population the “sandwich generation” because they have both child rearing and aging family member caregiving responsibilities (Miller, 1981). The baby boom generation, between the ages of 45-55 years old, is often the focus of research on this population but it can impact any person of any generation as they balance multiple caregiving roles across generations. Sometimes the caregivers are referred to as the squeezed generation or stretched generation. The real sandwich occurs when people manage the demands of many different responsibilities and roles in their lives including those of parent, caregiver to an elder, and an employee (Keene & Prokos, 2007). Several demographic
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Copyright 2012 by the Florida Public Health Review. Florida Public Health Review, 2012; 9, 95-104. http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/fphr/index.htm 104