The Availability of Care for Late-Middle-Aged Adults With Chronic ...

Furthermore, the characteristics of the social network as a whole, such as total network size, density, and role structure, contribute to the amount and type of support an individual receives (Faber & Wasserman).

Figure 2.1 depicts the interplay of the characteristics of care receivers and their potential and actual caregivers on community-based care. Refer back to the definitions at the end of the last chapter for ease of interpretation. The overlay of the life course perspective reminds us that these characteristics and relationships may differ by age and should be considered within the context of history—specifically, the year 2000, the study year. The discussion that follows highlights specific differences between the study groups using this perspective.

Life Stage and Societal Structures

One aspect of the life course perspective is the awareness that the timing of a transition (in this case, difficulty performing everyday activities without assistance) during a person’s life span can have important consequences for its outcomes (George, 2002). While functional limitation is typically seen as a product of the aging process, many chronic conditions, acute diseases, and injuries result in functional limitations at midlife. Indeed, the majority of persons with disabilities are younger than 65 (Freedman, Martin, & Shoeni, 2002). In 1999 the 10 leading causes of disability among adults aged 18–64 were arthritis/rheumatism, back or spine problems, heart trouble/hardening of the arteries, lung or respiratory problems, deafness or a hearing problems, limb/extremity stiffness, mental or emotional problems, diabetes, blindness or vision problems, and stroke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2001).