Abstract
This exploratory study examines home caregiving of elderly family members in rural central Japan. The extent of the daughter-in-law's involvement with severely cognitively and physically impaired relatives is discussed within the context of traditional co-residence patterns. Findings from a preliminary survey, interviews and observations indicate limited modification of the physical environment, high levels of burden, and utilization of the limited respite services available. Despite expectations that daughters-in-law will care for the elderly, voices for change are growing louder.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ariyoshi, S. 1984 The Twilight Years. Translated by M. Tahara. Tokyo: Kodansha.
Asano, H. and C. Saitō 1988 Social Service Delivery and Social Work Practice for Japanese Elders. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 12:131–152.
Brody, E.M. 1985 Parent Care as a Normative Family Stress. The Gerontologist 25(1):19–28.
Calkins, M.P., K.H. Namazi, and T. Rosner 1990 Home Modifications: Responding to Dementia. Cleveland, Ohio: Corrine Dolan Research Center, Heather Hill.
Campbell, R. 1985 Nursing Homes and Long-term Care in Japan. Pacific Affairs 57:78–89.
Campbell, R. and E.M. Brody 1985 Women's Changing Roles and Help to the Elderly: Attitudes of Women in the United States and Japan. The Gerontologist 25(6): 584–592.
Caudill, W. 1976 The Cultural and Interpersonal Context of Everyday Health and Illness in Japan and America. In Asian Medical Systems: A Comparative Study. C. Leslie, ed. Pp. 159–183 Berkeley: University of California Press.
Caudill, W. and H. Weinstein 1969 Maternal Care and Infant Behavior in Japan and America. Psychiatry 32:12–43.
Doty, P. 1986 Family Care of the Elderly: The Role of Public Opinion. Milbank Memorial Funds Quarterly 64:34–75.
Edwards, W. 1989 Modern Japan through its Weddings: Gender, Person, and Society in Ritual Portrayal. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Evans, D., H.H. Funkenstein, M.S. Albert, P.A. Scherr, N.R. Cook, M.J. Chown, L.W. Hebert, C.H. Hennekens, and J.O. Taylor 1989 Prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease in a Community Population of Older Persons. Journal of the American Medical Association 262(18):2551–2556.
Inoue, Y. 1982 Chronicle of my Mother. Translated by J.O. Moy. New York: Kodansha.
Kiefer, C.W. 1990 The Elderly in Modern Japan: Elite, Victims or Plural Players? In The Cultural Context of Aging. J. Sokolovsky, ed. Pp. 212–220. New York: Bergin and Garvey Publishers.
Koyano, W., H. Shibata, K. Nakazato, H. Haga, Y. Suyama, and T. Matsuzaki 1988 Prevalence of Disability in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living among Elderly Japanese. Journal of Gerontology 43(2):S41-S45.
Japan Statistical Yearbook, 1988 1989 Tokyo: Sōrifu Tōkeikyoku.
Lebra, T.S. and W.P. Lebra, eds. 1986 Japanese Culture and Behavior. Revised ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Liang, J., J. Bennett, H. Akiyama, and D. Maeda 1992 The Structure of PGC Morale Scale in American and Japanese Aged: A Further Note. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 7:46–68.
Lock, M. 1987 Protests of a Good Wife and Wise Mother: The Medicalization of Distress in Japan. In Health, Illness, and Medical Care in Japan. E. Norbeck and M. Lock eds. Pp. 130–157. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Long S.O. 1987 Family Change and Life Course in Japan. Ithaca: Cornell University East Asia Papers, No. 44.
Long, S.O. and P.B. Harris Festival for a Cause: Culture and Resource Mobilization in a Japanese Social Welfare Movement. Forthcoming.
Maeda, D. 1983 Family Care in Japan. The Gerontologist 23(6):579–583.
Maeda, D., K. Teshima, H. Sugisawa, and Y.S. Asakura 1989 Aging and Health in Japan. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 4:143–162.
Maeda, N. 1989 Long-term Care for the Elderly in Japan. In Caring for an Aging World. T. Schwab, ed. Pp. 246–264. New York: Mcgraw-Hill.
Martin, L.G. 1989 The Graying of Japan. Population Bulletin 44(2).
Ministry of Health and Welfare 1987 Fiscal 1986 Report on Health and Welfare Administration. Tokyo: Foreign Press Center.
Ministry of Health and Welfare n.d. Kōreisha Hoken Fukushi Guishin, Jūkanen Senryaku (Ten-Year Strategy to Promote Health Care and Welfare for the Aged). Tokyo.
Namazi, K.H., T.T. Rosner, and M.P. Calkins 1989 Visual Barriers to Prevent Ambulatory Alzheimer's Patients from Exiting Through an Emerging Door. The Gerontologist 29:699–702.
Ohnuki-Tierney, E. 1984 Illness and Culture in Contemporary Japan: An Anthropological View. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Okamoto, T. 1988 Zaitaku Chihosei Rojin no, Kaigosha no Nayami (Problems of Caregivers of Demented Elderly in the Home). Rone Shakai Kagaku (Social Gerontology) 10(1):75–90.
Okamoto, Y. 1990 Personal communication.
Okamoto, Y. 1992 Health Care for the Elderly in Japan: Medicine and Welfare in an Aging Society Facing a Crisis in Long Term Care. British Medical Journal 305:403–405.
Roberts, G. 1992 Silver Talent Centers: Gender, Aging and Work in Japan. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, Washington, D.C., April 4.
Smith, R.J. 1984 Japanese Society: Tradition, Self, and the Social Order. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sōrifu Rōjin Taisakushitsu 1983 Rōgo no Seikatsu to Kaigo (Old Age Daily Life and Supports). Seron Chōsa (Public Opinion Surveys), November, Pp. 44–73.
Stone, R., G.L. Cafferata, and J. Sangl 1987 Caregivers of the Frail Elderly: A National Profile. The Gerontologist 27(5):616–626.
Sussman, M.B. and J.C. Romeis 1982 Willingness to Assist One's Elderly Parents: Responses from the United States and Japan. Human Organization 41:256–259.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Harris, P.B., Long, S.O. Daughter-in-law's burden: An exploratory study of caregiving in Japan. J Cross-Cultural Gerontol 8, 97–118 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00971563
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00971563