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Article: Self-Characterizations of Adult Female Informal Caregivers: Gender Identity and the Bearing of Burden
- Article from:
- Research and Theory for Nursing Practice
- Article date:
- July 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Springer Publishing Company Summer 2005. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Gender identity is a powerful aspect of self that shapes values, attitudes, and conduct. Family caregivers, particularly women, tend to forgo institutionalization of care recipients even when care demands are overwhelming. The reluctance of women to relinquish care raises questions about the rela
tionship between gender identity and the bearing of burden. To illuminate the relationship between gender and burden, 36 adult women caring for highly dependent adults were asked to describe the nature of "self; that is, how they characterized themselves as a person. Results were tabulated and critically examined in relation to stereotypical gender traits, as well as social and political processes ...