I’ll Take a Year Off and Look What Happened’: How Family Caregiving Responsibilities Influence Educational Trajectories in the United States

Joanna Farrer Mackie; Janet Shim; Catherine Duarte; Robert Ream; Irene Yen

doi:10.29333/ajqr/12438

Joanna Farrer Mackie ¹ ^* , Janet Shim ², Catherine Duarte ³, Robert Ream ⁴, Irene Yen ⁵

More Detail

AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 6, Issue 3, pp. 1-22

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12438

OPEN ACCESS 1580 Views 1161 Downloads

Download Full Text (PDF)

Abstract

Higher educational attainment has been linked to better health and economic outcomes. However, little is known about how family caregiving responsibilities influence individuals’ educational trajectories in the United States (U.S.). Currently, 26% of U.S. undergraduates have at least one dependent child. While some literature describes the experiences of college-student parents, few studies examine the myriad ways family caregiving may singly or simultaneously present, including caregiving for children, relatives, household members, and older adults. The literature shows that caregiving for relatives, household members, and older adults is a common experience, with 20% of Americans providing care for an adult. Guided by social reproduction theory and reproductive labor, this paper examined qualitative interviews (n=31) from the Educational Trajectories & Health study to understand how caregiving responsibilities, broadly defined, influenced educational trajectories. Participants who identified as women discussed bearing disproportionate expectations to take on family caregiving responsibilities, including caregiving for siblings and aging parents. For most participants, family caregiving responsibilities substantially influenced educational decisions. Some experienced additional caregiving responsibilities but still attained their educational goals; others with family caregiving responsibilities discussed stretching and substituting resources in an effort to manage but ultimately having to step back from their stated educational pursuits. Situating these findings within broader social and structural contexts, this analysis examines educational disruption when family caregiving responsibilities arise. Findings have implications for policies that support students with family caregiving responsibilities at school, state, and federal levels.

Keywords: Family caregiving, reproductive labor, qualitative research.

References

AARP, & Alliance for Caregiving. (2020). Caregiving in the U.S. https://doi.org/10.26419/ppi.00103.001
Bailey, M., & Dynarski, S. (2011). Gains and gaps: Changing inequality in U.S. college entry and completion (No. w17633; p. w17633). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w17633
Bainbridge, H. T. J., & Broady, T. R. (2017). Caregiving responsibilities for a child, spouse or parent: The impact of care recipient independence on employee well-being. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 101, 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.04.006
Bainbridge, H. T. J., Palm, E., & Fong, M. M. (2021). Unpaid family caregiving responsibilities, employee job tasks and work‐family conflict: A cross‐cultural study. Human Resource Management Journal, 31(3), 658–674. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12333
Belfield, C., & Bailey, T. (2017). The labor market returns to sub-baccalaureate college: A review. Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment, 40. https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/media/k2/attachments/labor-market-returns-sub-baccalaureate-college-review.pdf
Benston, M. (1969). The political economy of women's liberation. Monthly Review, 21(4). https://monthlyreview.org/2019/09/01/the-political-economy-of-womens-liberation/
Bernal, D. D. (2002). Critical race theory, Latino critical theory, and critical raced-gendered epistemologies: Recognizing students of color as holders and creators of knowledge. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 105–126.
Bookman, A., & Kimbrel, D. (2011). Families and elder care in the twenty-first century. The Future of Children, 21(2). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ944934.pdf
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture (Vol. 4). Sage.
Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (2011). Schooling in capitalist America: Educational reform and the contradictions of economic life. Haymarket Books.
Calarco, J. M., Meanwell, E., Anderson, E., Knopr, A. (2020). Let's Not Pretend It's Fun:" How Disruptions to Families' School and Childcare Arrangements Impact Mothers' Well-Being. DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/jyvk4.
Calarco, J. M., Meanwell, E. V., Anderson, E. M., & Knopf, A. (2021). By default: How mothers in different-sex dual-earner couples account for inequalities in pandemic parenting. SocArXiv. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/hgnfs
Cammack, P. (2020). Marx on social reproduction. Historical Materialism, 28(2), 76–106. https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206X-00001934
Chang, J., Wang, S., Mancini, C., McGrath-Mahrer, B., & Orama de Jesus, S. (2020). The complexity of cultural mismatch in higher education: Norms affecting first-generation college students’ coping and help-seeking behaviors. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 26(3), 280–294. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000311
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Clark, J., & Araiza, O. (2021). Margins in movement: Toward belonging in the inland empire of Southern California. (p. 61). Othering & Belonging Institute. https://belonging.berkeley.edu/margins-in-movement?emci=64c860bd-6e51-ec11-9820-a085fc31ac93&emdi=b887ac10-cb52-ec11-9820-a085fc31ac93&ceid=7501714
Crosier, A., & Handford, A. (2012). Customer journey mapping as an advocacy tool for disabled people: A case study. Social Marketing Quarterly, 18(1), 67–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524500411435483
Dawson, W. D., Bangerter, L. R., & Splaine, M. (2020). The politics of caregiving: Taking stock of state-level policies to support family caregivers. Public Policy & Aging Report, 30(2), 62–66. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/praa005
Dedoose. (2019). Dedoose Version X, web application for managing, analyzing, and presenting qualitative and mixed method research data. SocioCultural Research Consultants, LLC. www.dedoose.com
Dillenburger, K., & McKerr, L. (2010). ‘How long are we able to go on?’ Issues faced by older family caregivers of adults with disabilities: Older caregivers of adults with disabilities. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(1), 29-38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-3156.2010.00613.x
Duarte, C. dP, Wannier, S. R., Cohen, A. K., Glymour, M. M., Ream, R. K., Yen, I. H., & Vable, A. M. (2021). Lifecourse Educational Trajectories and Hypertension in Midlife: An Application of Sequence Analysis. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, glab249. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glab249
Elias, N. M., & D’Agostino, M. J. (2021). Care in crisis: COVID-19 as a catalyst for universal child care in the United States. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 43(2), 217–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2020.1813456
Family Caregiver Alliance. (n.d.). Caregiver statistics: Demographics. https://www.caregiver.org/resource/caregiver-statistics-demographics/
Family Caregiver Alliance. (2009). Caregiving. https://www.caregiver.org/resource/caregiving/#
Folbre, N. (2020). Cooperation & conflict in the patriarchal labyrinth. Daedalus, 149(1), 198–212. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01782
Gaydosh, L., Schorpp, K. M., Chen, E., Miller, G. E., & Harris, K. M. (2018). College completion predicts lower depression but higher metabolic syndrome among disadvantaged minorities in young adulthood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(1), 109–114. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714616114
Goldin, C., Kerr, S. P., Olivetti, C., & Barth, E. (2017). The expanding gender earnings gap: Evidence from the LEHD-2000 Census. American Economic Review, 107(5), 110–114. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.p20171065
Greenstone, M., & Looney, A. (2012, October 5). Regardless of the cost, college still matters. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institute. Retrieved from The Brookings Institute website on August 12, 2022: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/jobs/2012/10/05/regardless-of-the-cost-college-still-matters/
Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2015). Qualitative Research Methods. SAGE Publications.
Hershbein, B., & Kearney, M. (2014). Major decisions: What graduates earn over their lifetimes. https://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/major_decisions_what_graduates_earn_over_their_lifetimes/
Laughlin, L. (2013). Who’s minding the kids? Child care arrangements: Spring 2011 (Report number P70-135). United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2013/demo/p70-135.html
Lavelle, T. A., Wittenberg, E., Lamarand, K., & Prosser, L. A. (2014). Variation in the spillover effects of illness on parents, spouses, and children of the chronically Ill. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 12(2), 117–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-014-0079-8
Mamedova, S., & Redford, J. (2015). Early childhood program participation, from the national household education surveys program of 2012 (NCES 2013-029.REV2). National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013029rev2.pdf
Mathews, T. J. (2016). Mean age of mothers is on the rise: United States, 2000–2014. NHCS Data Brief, 232. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26828319/
Nelson, B., Froehner, M., & Gault, B. (2013). College students with children are common and face many challenges in completing higher education. Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
Park, M., & Peña, J. F. (2021). The invisible work of family, friend, and neighbor caregivers and its importance for immigrant and dual language learner families. Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/family-friend-neighbor-care
Peacock, S., Bayly, M., Duggleby, W., Ploeg, J., Pollard, L., Swindle, J., Lee, H. J., Williams, A., Markle-Reid, M., & McAiney, C. (2020). Women’s caregiving experience of older persons living with Alzheimer disease and related dementias and multiple chronic conditions: Using Wuest’s theory. SAGE Open Nursing, 6,1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2377960820974816
Phillips, L. T., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S. M., & Goudeau, S. (2020). Access is not enough: Cultural mismatch persists to limit first-generation students’ opportunities for achievement throughout college. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(5), 1112–1131. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000234
Powell, D. N., & Karraker, K. (2019). Expectations, experiences, and desires: Mothers’ perceptions of the division of caregiving and their postnatal adaptation. Journal of Family Psychology, 33(4), 401–411. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000526
Raschick, M., & Ingersoll-Dayton, B. (2004). The costs and rewards of caregiving among aging spouses and adult children. Family Relations, 53(3), 317–325.
Reichlin Cruse, L., Gault, B., & Suh, J. Y. (2018). Time demands of single mother college students and the role of child care in their postsecondary success. Institute for Women’s Policy Research. https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/C468.pdf
Rose, G. (2001). Sick individuals and sick populations. International Journal of Epidemiology, 30(3), 427-432. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/30.3.427
Sakamoto, A., Tamborini, C. R., & Kim, C. (2018). Long-term earnings differentials between African American and White men by educational level. Population Research and Policy Review, 37(1), 91–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-017-9453-1
Schofield, D., Shrestha, R. N., Zeppel, M. J. B., Cunich, M. M., Tanton, R., Veerman, J. L., Kelly, S. J., & Passey, M. E. (2019). Economic costs of informal care for people with chronic diseases in the community: Lost income, extra welfare payments, and reduced taxes in Australia in 2015-2030. Health & Social Care in the Community, 27(2), 493–501. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12670
Secombe, W. (1974). The Housewife and Her Labour under Capitalism. The New Left Review, 22. https://newleftreview.org/issues/i83/articles/wally-seccombe-the-housewife-and-her-labour-under-capitalism.
Stamatopoulos, V. (2018). The young carer penalty: Exploring the costs of caregiving among a sample of Canadian youth. Child & Youth Services, 39(2–3), 180–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935X.2018.1491303
Vable, A. M., Cohen, A. K., Leonard, S. A., Glymour, M. M., Duarte, C. d.P., & Yen, I. H. (2018). Do the health benefits of education vary by sociodemographic subgroup? Differential returns to education and implications for health inequities. Annals of Epidemiology, 28(11), 759-766.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2018.08.014
Vable, A. M., Duarte, C. dP, Cohen, A. K., Glymour, M. M., Ream, R. K., & Yen, I. H. (2020). Does the Type and Timing of Educational Attainment Influence Physical Health? A Novel Application of Sequence Analysis. American Journal of Epidemiology, 189(11), 1389–1401. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwaa150
Vable, A. M., Duarte, C. d P., Wannier, S. R., Chan-Golston, A. M., Cohen, A. K., Glymour, M. M., Ream, R. K., & Yen, I. H. (2021). Understanding the benefits of different types and timing of education for mental health: A sequence analysis approach. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, gbab147. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab147

Citation

Mackie, J. F., Shim, J., Duarte, C., Ream, R., & Yen, I. (2022). I’ll Take a Year Off and Look What Happened’: How Family Caregiving Responsibilities Influence Educational Trajectories in the United States. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 6(3), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12438

Mackie, J. F., Shim, J., Duarte, C., Ream, R., and Yen, I. (2022). I’ll Take a Year Off and Look What Happened’: How Family Caregiving Responsibilities Influence Educational Trajectories in the United States. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 6(3), pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12438

Mackie JF, Shim J, Duarte C, Ream R, Yen I. I’ll Take a Year Off and Look What Happened’: How Family Caregiving Responsibilities Influence Educational Trajectories in the United States. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2022;6(3), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12438

Mackie, Joanna Farrer, Janet Shim, Catherine Duarte, Robert Ream, and Irene Yen. "I’ll Take a Year Off and Look What Happened’: How Family Caregiving Responsibilities Influence Educational Trajectories in the United States". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2022 6 no. 3 (2022): 1-22. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12438

Mackie, Joanna Farrer et al. "I’ll Take a Year Off and Look What Happened’: How Family Caregiving Responsibilities Influence Educational Trajectories in the United States". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 6, no. 3, 2022, pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12438

Mackie JF, Shim J, Duarte C, Ream R, Yen I. I’ll Take a Year Off and Look What Happened’: How Family Caregiving Responsibilities Influence Educational Trajectories in the United States. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2022;6(3):1-22. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12438