中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: In contemporary Taiwanese society, parents still hope that their adult sons will take care of them when they are elderly. In fact, this duty usually transfers to the daughterin- law, whether she is Taiwanese or a foreigner. In recent years, however, Taiwanese daughters-in-law are increasingly hiring foreign workers to take on the role of caring for their parents-in-law. In comparison, foreign daughters-in-law tend to take full responsibility for caring for their parents-in-law. This study compares the caretaking experience and strategies of Taiwanese daughters-in-law as employers of foreign care workers and foreign daughters-in-law who fill the same role as the hired foreign workers. Methods: Qualitative methods were used in this exploratory study. We interviewed 9 Taiwanese daughters-in-law who employ foreign care workers and 13 foreign daughters-in-law. Data collected was from August 2010 to July 2011. Results:. The living arrangement is the main factor for deciding care responsibility. Foreign daughters-in-law don’t have the ability to move out, so they are required to do care work. The second theme is related to the age of the daughter-in-law and the care burden: foreign daughters-in-law, averaging 35 years of age, face the challenge of taking care of themselves, if pregnant, their children, and their disabled parents-in-law. Taiwanese daughters-in-law, whose mean age is 48, they felt less physically capable of caring for disabled parents-in-law. The final research founding is the boundary between the care provider and the care manager: foreign daughters-in-law can be only care providers, while Taiwanese daughters-in-law need to deal with the issues of managing and distributing care resources. Conclusion: This study revealed two types of care providers, their care willingness, and strategies affected by their position in their family. Implications for longterm care policies in Taiwan for the situation and needs of daughters-in-law as mandated care workers and care managers are discussed.