Abstract
The research on caregiving for a formerly abusive or neglectful parent has been largely quantitative and does not explain caregiver motivations or daily experiences of caregiving. This research project seeks to explore what motivates caregivers to provide care to a formerly abusive or neglectful parent and what these experiences are like for caregivers. Using in-depth interviews with caregivers of formerly abusive or neglectful parents and autoethnographic data from my own experience of caregiving for my abusive mother, which were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns. This project found that these individuals express feeling a pressure to remain connected to their parents, but they express this motivation in multiple ways, such as building empathy toward their parents, trying to build a conventional image of a good person, and some express that there is simply no one else who will provide care for their parent.
Advisor
Vicki Hunter
Committee Member
Eric Sprankle
Committee Member
Kathryn Elliott
Date of Degree
2024
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
Program of Study
Aging Studies
Department
Health Science
College
Arts and Humanities
Recommended Citation
Radcliff-Hoy, Hannah. (2024). Caregiving for a Formally Abusive or Neglectful Parent: A Qualitative Interview Study of Caregiver Motivations [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1478/
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.