Conflicts over caregiving: A discussion of filial obligations among adult Nigerian children.

A Nigerian study describing what working adult children do to help their parents.Data were derived from interviews of 100 respondents aged 25 to 55 currently employed in the Nigerian public sector and having at least a living mother.The commonest form of assistance was provision of monthly allowance and foodstuffs. Most of the adult children felt dissatisfied with their level of assistance to their parents, yet felt unable to do better because of the variety of demands on their limited financial resources. Since this current practice of parental support burdens the child's family and fails to provide adequately for the needs of the elderly parents, the author suggests that there is a need for government to explore other avenues for lightening the burden of parent care and thereby improving the quality of life across the life span.