Family Support And Family Caregiving Across Disabilities

This article discusses the role of family members in providing care for individuals with disabilities in the United States. It highlights the need for societal support for family caregivers and the established practices for reducing their stress. However, the research on family support has been limited by focusing on specific categories such as the elderly, individuals with mental illness, or those with developmental disabilities. This book aims to address this limitation by providing a cross-categorical and lifespan analysis of family support and caregiving, including children with disabilities, autism, schizophrenia, and cancer. The book was published as a special issue in the Journal of Family Social Work.

Family members provide the majority of care for individuals with disabilities in the United States. Recognition is growing that family caregiving deserves and may require societal support, and evidence-based practices have been established for reducing stress associated with caregiving. Despite the substantial research literature on family support that has developed, researchers, advocates and professionals have often worked in separate categorical domains such as family support for caregiving for the frail elderly, for individuals with mental illness, or for people with development disabilities. Family Support and Family Caregiving across Disabilities addresses this significant limitation through cross-categorical and lifespan analyses of family support and family caregiving from the perspectives of theory and conceptual frameworks, empirical research, and frameworks and recommendations for improvements in public policy. The book also examines children with disabilities, children with autism, adults with schizophrenia, and individuals with cancer across the life cycle. This book was published as a two-part special issue in the Journal of Family Social Work.