SW Sandwich Generation Assignment

 ENGAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT. LITERATURE REVIEW.

Based on the scenario below, please add to the existing information regarding engagement and assessment, and a Literature review to back the assessment and engagement. In the assessment portion, please include establishing a will and power of attorney.

Engagement and assessment- 2-2.5 pages:

 -Project provides an excellent description of techniques a social worker would use to engage with this family and assess the presenting issue. Project demonstrates excellent critical thought in explanation of cultural factors. 

Literature Review- 2-2.5 pages:

 -Project provides an exemplary literature review. Project accurately identifies evidence-based interventions used for the population. Project presents research from peer-reviewed journals. Articles used are no more than 5 years old. Project contains multiple, appropriate and exemplary sources expected/required for the assignment. 

SCENARIO:

The Smith’s, an Italian-American middle-class family of five, consists of 75-year-old, Martha and 76-year-old, John, who have three adult children. Martha and John live in a suburb 15 munities from downtown Chicago, Illinois, and live in the same home they raised their children in. Martha and John raised their children with within a strong Roman Catholic tradition. Sarah (53), the oldest of the three siblings, has a husband and 2 children of her own. Sarah, her husband, their 15-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter live in the same middle-class suburb of Chicago as her parents, and frequently visits her parents. They attend church services every Sunday with Martha and John, and Sarah’s daughter is currently attending Sunday School. Jack (50), the middle sibling, is a divorced father of three, currently lives in Kansas City, Kansas, and has distanced himself from his Martha, John, and his siblings over the years. The youngest sibling, 45-year-old Lucas, is a single and successful businessman that lives in downtown Chicago. Lucas visits his family as he is able but is often out of town on business trips. Although he does not attend church regularly with the family, he does attend Christmas and Easter Mass with his parents, Sarah, and her family when he is in town. 

 Recently, the Smith parents have had increased health concerns. John, a retired factory worker, suffers from severe hearing loss and mobility limitation due to arthritis which has made daily tasks difficult. Martha, a retired school teacher, has recently began showing signs of dementia, and her daily functioning and independence is beginning to deteriorate. As John and Martha have gotten older, Sarah has typically been the sibling who has helped with anything the Smith parents needed, mostly due to her proximity to the family home. However, Sarah’s husband has recently been laid off of work which has made it necessary for her to increase her own work hours. However, her job is suffering as she is frequently distant from her job responsibilities, taking additional time off, and missing work deadlines due to all of her familial responsibilities. Her children are active in extra-curricular activates as well: her son is a Drum Major in the high school marching band and is frequently needing to be dropped off and picked up from practices, and her daughter has weekly youth-group meetings at their church in addition to Sunday School. Although Sarah’s husband is out of work, he has recently been diagnosed with depression after being turned-down from multiple job opportunities. This has also led her husband to be more distant and emotionally unavailable, and he also has increased his drinking which has made him unavailable to drive the children to and from their activities. Despite the financial burden it may cause on the family, Sarah is contemplating reducing her work hours to in order to better support her family and parents. 

As a result of these familial circumstances, Sarah has come to talk with a therapist at a local outpatient clinic after being referred by a close friend from her church. Sarah explained that her friend noticed her exhausted and stressed appearance, and after getting coffee after church and hearing about the strains in Sarah’s life she suggested Sarah come in to seek assistance. During the intake, Sarah expressed feeling as though she was “trying to keep too many things afloat at once” and noted that she did not feel much support from her husband nor her brothers when it came to family needs and the needs of her aging parents. She expressed that it was hard enough raising a family of her own, and that the age and rapid deterioration of her parent’s functioning required more than she was able to provide for all of them. However, she displayed a great sense of responsibility and loyalty to her parents as well as pride regarding their care, noting a cultural significance to the need of taking care of her parents. Sarah went on to add that although she felt a strong moral obligation to take care of her parents, she expressed frustration towards her brother’s lack of effort and support for their family.   

             The above case example describes a woman who is considered to be part of a Sandwich Generation, also known as multigenerational caregiving. Shallcross (2015) describes the Sandwich Generation as a generation of people who are caring for their aging parents while supporting their own children (p. 1). This definition is descriptive of Sarah’s situation and the challenges she is facing as a result of this situation. General stressors for multigenerational caregivers include difficulties sleeping, fatigue, lower social functioning, inter-family conflict, stress, difficulties at work, and an overall negative impact on physical and mental health of the caregiver (Aazami, Shamsuddin, & Akmal, n.d.). As we learn more about Sarah and the stressors she is facing we begin to see these areas of disruption arise in the case. 

Although multigenerational caregiving can affect both men and women, significant burdens have been expressed for women in these roles in particular (Aazami, Shamsuddin, & Akmal, n.d.; Evans, Girdler, Falkmer, Richmond, Wagman, Millsteed, & Falkmer, 2017). For example, Stiner and Fletcher (n.d.) note five themes that women in the role of a multigenerational caregiver generally face: physical care, sounding board or the emotional aspects of caregiving, not having enough time in the day, questioning whether or not they are adequate caregivers for their children, and transitions and variations in caregiving. Different aspects of these themes highlight the emotional strain caregivers may feel and add weight to some of the additional concerns individuals in this role are challenged with. Aazami et al. (n.d.) note another challenge being the increase in work-family conflict for women who have job obligations along with increased family responsibility. Shallcross (2015) also acknowledges career strain with multigenerational caregivers, as those individuals are often forced to cut their hours and decline job promotions they would have otherwise accepted. These examples of challenges for multigenerational caregivers are descriptive of the challenges Sarah faces in this case study. 

References

Aazami, S., Shamsuddin, K., & Akmal, S. (n.d.). Assessment of Work-Family Conflict Among Women of the Sandwich Generation. JOURNAL OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT, 25(2), 135–140. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1007/s10804-017-9276-7

Evans, K. L., Girdler, S. J., Falkmer, T., Richmond, J. E., Wagman, P., Millsteed, J., & Falkmer, M. (2017). Viewpoints of working sandwich generation women and occupational therapists on role balance strategies. SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, 24(5), 366–382. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/11038128.2016.1250814

Shallcross (2015). Multiple stressors take a bite out of the sandwich generation. Counseling Today, 58(5), 32–39. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=110663952&site=eds-live&scope=site

Steiner, A. M., & Fletcher, P. C. (n.d.). Sandwich Generation Caregiving: A Complex and Dynamic Role. JOURNAL OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT, 24(2), 133–143. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1007/s10804-016-9252-7