Deck 12: Social Support and Caregiving

Question 1

Although it is the subjective measures of emotional connectedness with others that are related to general well-being, health care practitioners tend to measure social isolation in terms of factors such as

A) living alone
B) feeling lonely
C) feeling supported
D) feeling connected
E) feeling loved

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A researcher is interested in measuring the active affiliations that involve trust and intimacy among older people sampled from long-term care homes. This researcher is most specifically interested in the concept of

A) social network
B) social support
C) social integration
D) interpersonal interaction
E) group affiliation

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A researcher is interested in measuring the existence or quantity of relationships among older people sampled from long-term care homes. This researcher is most specifically interested in the concept of

A) social network
B) social support
C) social integration
D) interpersonal interaction
E) group affiliation

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The majority of social support research has focused on

A) informal networks, social integration, emotional support
B) informal networks, social integration, and social isolation
C) social networks, emotional support, and instrumental/tangible support
D) social networks, emotional support, and group affiliation
E) emotional support, group affiliation, and interpersonal interaction

Question 5

The gerontological literature on social support contains the most information on

A) group affiliation
B) social networks
C) social integration
D) interpersonal interaction
E) information

Question 6

Having others in your life with whom you can spend time and share activities refers to

A) companionship
B) intimacy
C) confidantes
D) activities of daily living
E) instrumental activities of daily living

Question 7

Having one or more individuals with whom we feel free to discuss personal matters and share emotional feelings and events refers to

A) activities of daily living
B) instrumental activities of daily living
C) companions
D) confidantes
E) peers

Question 8

Tangible or instrumental assistance includes activities of daily living (ADLs) such as

A) housework
B) preparing meals
C) banking
D) shopping
E) walking

Question 9

An example of an instrumental activity of daily living (IADLs) is

A) walking
B) bathing
C) shopping
D) eating
E) dressing

Question 10

Social gerontologists have debunked the myth that

A) older adults are neither isolated nor alone
B) older adults are largely abandoned by their families and placed in long-term care facilities
C) older adults have extensive social networks
D) many older adults have both companions and confidantes
E) no socially sanctioned and valued role has developed for older people

Question 11

Given the differential life expectancy between men and women

A) women are more likely to become widowed
B) women are less likely to become widowed
C) men who are widowed are less likely to remarry than women
D) women who are widowed are more likely to remarry than men
E) widowhood has become a normal life stage for most men

Question 12

The proportion of older people who have been either divorced or never-married

A) will decrease as the baby-boom generation ages
B) will increase as the baby-boom generation ages
C) will stay the same as the baby-boom generation ages
D) will slightly increase and then dramatically decrease as the baby-boom generation ages
E) will fluctuate as the baby-boom generation ages

Question 13

Which relationship lasts longer than any other tie?

A) husband
B) wife
C) daughter
D) son
E) sibling

Question 14

Except for spouses and children, older people have reported feeling closer to _____ than any one else.

A) friends
B) in-laws
C) siblings
D) cousins
E) aunts/uncles

Question 15

All but of the following statements are true about older people and their children?

A) most older people live near or with one child
B) over 80% of older people have at least weekly contact with their children
C) more interaction takes place between older parents and their children than with any other kin
D) older people would rather live with their children in order to maintain close ties
E) more research has focused on children than grandchildren and older people

Question 16

The phrase "intimacy at a distance" was coined to describe

A) older people's general preference not to live with their children but to maintain close ties
B) older people's general preference to live with their children in order to maintain close ties
C) the fact that many children do not live close to their parents but still maintain close ties
D) the fact that many older people live in long-term care facilities but their children visit them frequently
E) the fact that many children live in different countries but telephone their parents regularly to maintain close ties

Question 17

Although we know less about the interaction of older people with their grandchildren than children

A) the grandfather-grandson tie is reported to be the closest
B) the grandfather-granddaughter tie is reported to be the closest
C) the grandmother-granddaughter tie is reported to be the closest
D) the grandmother-grandson tie is reported to be the closest
E) grandparents are closer with their grandsons than granddaughters

Question 18

Unlike kin ties, friendships are characterized by

A) involuntary involvement
B) more obligation
C) choice in involvement
D) dissimilarity
E) different age peers

Question 19

The direct effects view of social support would suggest that social support

A) is important in meeting needs that require fulfillment on a more or less daily basis, only if an individual is experiencing stress
B) is important in meeting needs that require fulfillment on a more or less daily basis, only if an individual is not experiencing stress
C) is important in meeting needs that require fulfillment on a more or less daily basis, regardless of whether the individual is experiencing stress or not
D) is important for quality of life during stressful events or crises
E) is unimportant for quality of life during stressful events or crises

Question 20

The indirect effects view of social support would suggest that social support

A) is important in meeting needs that require fulfillment on a more or less daily basis, only if an individual is experiencing stress
B) is important in meeting needs that require fulfillment on a more or less daily basis, only if an individual is not experiencing stress
C) is important in meeting needs that require fulfillment on a more or less daily basis, regardless of whether the individual is experiencing stress or not
D) is important for quality of life during stressful events or crises
E) is unimportant for quality of life during stressful events or crises

Question 21

Part of the complexity of social support is that social interaction can be negative as well as positive. The four types of detrimental functions of close relationships include

A) ineffective, inexcessive, unwarranted, and unpleasant help
B) excessive, unwarranted, effective and pleasant help
C) ineffective, excessive, warranted and pleasant help
D) ineffective, excessive, unwarranted and unsavoury help
E) ineffective, excessive, unwarranted, and unpleasant help

Question 22

What major shift occurred affected volunteering at the end of the 20^th century?

A) a critical need for social welfare
B) growth of the welfare state
C) growth in the helping professions
D) growth of professional human service workers
E) government efforts to devolve responsibility back the community

Question 23

The 1997 Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating provides Canada with

A) little information on volunteering
B) some information about volunteering, but less compared to other developed countries
C) some information about volunteering, but less compared to other developing countries
D) the richest national data in the world on volunteering that exists
E) incomplete information, given the low response rate of the survey

Question 24

Which of the following is an example of formal volunteer work?

A) working for pay at a long-term care home
B) helping your neighbour with his groceries
C) shoveling your neighbour's sidewalk
D) helping organize a garage sale on your street
E) volunteering for Big Brothers Big Sisters

Question 25

Which of the following is an example of informal volunteer work?

A) volunteering at an agency for the homeless
B) volunteering to help a friend
C) volunteering at a women's shelter
D) volunteering at a long-term care facility
E) volunteering for Big Brothers Big Sisters

Question 26

The 1997 Canadian Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating found that _____ of Canadians aged 15 and over engaged in formal volunteering.

A) almost one-fifth
B) almost one-quarter
C) almost one-third
D) almost one-half
E) more than one-half

Question 27

The 1997 Canadian Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating found that _____ of Canadians aged 65 and over engaged in formal volunteering.

A) almost one-fifth
B) almost one-quarter
C) almost one-third
D) almost one-half
E) more than one-half

Question 28

Which of the following statements is true about the benefits of volunteering?

A) research has found a relationship between health and volunteering
B) the relationship between volunteering and quality of life has been shown to be causal
C) most research in the area has been longitudinal
D) greater benefits result from volunteers engaged in information referral than enablement roles
E) volunteers involved in less formal helping roles seem to derive greater rewards from volunteering

Question 29

Among clients who receive help from volunteers, those receiving _____ type of volunteer services experience the greatest benefit

A) advocacy
B) mediation
C) social brokering
D) enablement/counselling
E) information referral

Question 30

Caregiving is a major interest in gerontology because physical health declines in old age. The defining characteristic of caregiving is that

A) it is the only form of volunteering
B) it is a form of formal volunteering
C) the care is required by the individual
D) the care is not required by the individual
E) it only includes assisting with activities of daily living (ADLs)

Question 31

A daughter helps take care of her aging mother. This is an example of

A) natural caregiving
B) expected caregiving
C) caregiving burden
D) formal caregiving
E) informal caregiving

Question 32

The research suggests that within industrialized countries informal caregivers provide _____ percent of the total care received by older people.

A) 15 to 25
B) 30 to 40
C) 45 to 55
D) 60 to 70
E) 75 to 85

Question 33

Caregiving data from the 1996 General Social Survey found

A) women caregivers are more likely to perform instrumental activities than men
B) caregivers are more likely to be female than male
C) caregivers are more likely to be male than female
D) more men than women are primary caregivers
E) caregivers are likely only caring for one person

Question 34

The most frequent caregivers when health deteriorates are

A) wives
B) husbands
C) daughters
D) sons
E) grandchildren

Question 35

Caregiving roles of sons and daughters are often different and gender based, with daughters providing

A) more hands-on and emotional care
B) less hands-on and emotional care
C) more supervision
D) more financial support
E) more instrumental activities, such as repairs

Question 36

Caregiving roles of sons and daughters are often different and gender-based, with sons providing

A) more hands-on care
B) more emotional care
C) more supervision and financial support
D) more assistance with feeding
E) more assistance with walking

Question 37

It has been suggested that the terms "sandwich generation", "hidden victims", and the "generation-in-the-middle" are misnomers, and that a more appropriate term would be

A) continuous caregiving
B) serial caregiving
C) lifetime of caregiving
D) long-term caregiving
E) ongoing caregiving

Question 38

Research suggests that friend caregivers tend to

A) be younger
B) provide fewer hours of care
C) provide long-term care for chronic illnesses
D) provide short-term care for chronic illnesses
E) be characterized as "care with commitment"

Question 39

The physical, psychological or emotional, social, and financial problems that have been experienced by family members caring for an impaired older adult has been called

A) caregiver troubles
B) caregiver problems
C) caregiver concerns
D) caregiver burden
E) caregiver issues

Question 40

Caregiver burden is considered to consist of two dimensions a subjective component and an objective component. Subjective rather than objective burden often includes

A) changes in daily routine
B) changes in employment
C) changes in health
D) disruption to family life
E) emotional reactions to caregiving

Question 41

Caregivers who provide care to people with dementia compared to caregivers providing care to the physically frail

A) are more burdened
B) are less burdened
C) experience the same amount of burden
D) experience no burden
E) have not been well studied

Question 42

Which of the following characteristics is associated with more burden?

A) a close relationship between the caregiver and the care-recipient
B) minimal behavioural problems
C) caregiving tasks that do not restrict caregiver time and space
D) providing care to someone with dementia
E) caregiving tasks that do not require bodily contact

Question 43

Which of the following characteristics is associated with less burden?

A) a close relationship between the caregiver and the care-recipient
B) providing care to an older adult with dementia
C) behavioural problems of the care-recipient such as violence and wandering
D) caregiving tasks that restrict or confine the caregiving time and space
E) caregiving tasks that require personal body contact

Question 44

Which of the following is considered a mediating process in the stress-process model?

A) caregiving history
B) socio-economic characteristics
C) depression
D) physical health
E) social support

Question 45

The primary focus in the caregiving literature is on

A) caregiver stress and caregiver burden
B) objective and subjective burden
C) negative and positive aspects of caregiving
D) negative aspects of caregiving and bereavement
E) bereavement and positive aspects of caregiving

Question 46

A pause in or temporary cessation of caregiving tasks and an interval of rest refers to

A) palliative care
B) hospice care
C) respite
D) daycare
E) release break

Question 47

Chappell and colleagues derived a typology of what respite means to caregivers. Caregivers identified all but which of the following themes about what respite means to them?

A) stolen moments
B) connections
C) relief
D) mental or physical stimulus
E) burden

Question 48

Which of the following themes on the meanings of respite to caregivers refers to separation from caregiving, a complete physical and mental break?

A) stolen moments
B) connections
C) relief
D) mental or physical stimulus
E) burden

Question 49

Based on experiential evidence from caregivers themselves, _____ percent define having a break differently from how the health care system and researchers have defined respite in the past.

A) fully 20
B) fully 30
C) fully 40
D) fully 50
E) almost 50

Question 50

It is projected that in the future of caregiving,

A) there will be a steady increase in the proportion of senior men without any surviving children
B) there will be a steady increase in the proportion of senior women without any surviving children
C) more informal support will likely be available for older adults
D) there will be only a relative increase in the need for formal support
E) the seniors of the future will likely expect less health care than the seniors of today

Question 51

Social support has been used to refer not only to positive interactions, but also to encompass all interactions, whether positive, negative or neutral.

Question 52

Most Canadian older people report having neither a companion nor a confidante.

Question 53

A common stereotype of older people is that they are isolated and alone, with deteriorating health.

Question 54

Married men typically name their wives as their best friends, where as women name their offspring or female age peers.

Question 55

According to the 1997 Canadian Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating, Canadians aged 65 and over, contributed on average, less hours per year than did any other age group.

Question 56

Contrast companionship with confidante, and activities of daily living with instrumental activities of daily living.

Question 57

How has research helped to debunk myths around older people and social interaction? What is the state of research on older people and social support at present?

Question 58

Why has it been argued that marriage is good for people? Does the role of marriage differ for older men and women with respect to social support?

Question 59

What is the role of grandparenthood? What has the research suggested about the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren?

Question 60

Briefly discuss the nature of research on social support and well-being at present. What are some of the gaps in knowledge?

Question 61

Define volunteering and describe how and why volunteering has changed throughout the century.

Question 62

Contrast formal and informal volunteering. What did the 1997 National Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating tell us about Canadians' volunteering activities?

Question 63

Contrast informal care with formal caregivers. Briefly discuss some gender differences in caregiving behaviour.

Question 64

What is meant by the sandwich generation? How has this term been misleading?

Question 65

What changes are projected in the future of caregiving in Canada?

Question 66

Define and describe the different terms used for social support. Where has the gerontological literature focused its attention? What does the research suggest with respect to social support and older people?

Question 67

Describe the direct effects view and the indirect effects view of social support, giving an example for each. For which view is there empirical support? What are some of the problems with each of these views?

Question 68

Describe the pattern of volunteering in Canada among older people compared to other age groups. What are some of the benefits of volunteering? Which roles present the greatest benefits? What are the effects on those served by older volunteers?

Question 69

Define caregiver burden. What is the difference between objective and subjective burden? What does the research indicate with respect to the predictors and impacts of caregiver burden? Describe the implications of focusing on the negative aspects of caregiving. Also, discuss how bereavement of the caregiver has been examined in the literature.

Question 70

What is meant by respite? Describe the three types of respite care services in Canada. What are the aims of respite care? Describe the use of respite services and reasons to account for this trend. It has been argued that researchers and service providers alike have gone astray by conceptualizing respite as a service rather than an outcome. Discuss what this statement means and its implications.