Understanding the well-being of care receivers.

A model in which the contributions made by older care receivers to their family members predicted personal control and ultimately psychological well-being of older people living in multigenerational households was proposed and tested. Data from 129 people over the age of 60 reveals that physical health predicts the extent to which elders contribute to the family, with those in poorer health giving less help to family members than those in better health. Elder contributions to the family increased the sense of control experienced by the older person. Although personal control increased the overall sense of psychological well-being experienced by the older care receivers, there was no direct relationship between the elder's contributions to the family and their psychological well-being.