About this event
LearningThis study examines whether caregiving is associated with mortality risk among aging parents of individuals with childhood-onset disabilities (PICD). For PICD, caregiving often begins early in parenthood, spans much of the life course, and may continue until the death of the parent or child. Prior research shows that parents of disabled offspring report poorer later-life outcomes, including psychological well-being, functional limitations, chronic illness, and quality of life, all of which are linked to shorter lifespan. Drawing on Midlife in the United States II and its linked mortality records, Cox proportional hazards models show that caregiving PICD have approximately twice the risk of mortality compared with non-caregiving PICD and a 60% higher risk compared with non-caregivers. The findings suggest that caregiving in the context of disability parenting creates a particularly stressful later-life experience, with important implications for caregiver health, longevity, and support policies.
Liangqi (Cecilia) Shen is a PhD student at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. She is interested in applying a life-course perspective to examine how disabilities and chronic illnesses shape the health and life trajectories of individuals, their caregivers, and their families. She has experience working with large longitudinal and national datasets across Canada, the United States, and China. She also had practice experience supporting children with autism and their families in Hangzhou, China.