BEING AN OLDER HUSBAND CAREGIVER IN SOUTH KOREA by WON JEE CHO (Under the Direction of Denise C. Lewis) ABSTRACT The rapid growth of the aging population has raised concerns about long-term care for the elderly in South Korea. Traditionally, the family, particularly the daughter-in-law or wife, has been considered as a primary source for eldercare. With the increasing unmet needs of family caregivers, older husbands are increasingly engaging in spousal care. Yet, little is known about the experience of older husbands caring for their wives with chronic disease because of the numerical predominance of women in eldercare. The purpose of this study was to understand what older husbands experience while caring for their wives with illness and/or disability and how they refashion themselves as spousal caregivers in Korean society. This study is a phenomenological one, focusing on the lived experience of being an older husband caregiver in South Korea. The following research questions guided this study: (a) what are older husbands’ experiences of spousal caregiving inside and outside the caregiving situation in everyday life? and (b) what is the essence of ‘being an older husband caregiver’ within multiple contexts in Korean society? In-depth interviews were conducted with 23 men aged 60 and over who, as primary caregivers, have taken care of their wives and were selected using criterion sampling. Phenomenological data analysis was used to derive essential themes from their accounts of the lived experience in spousal caregiving. Findings revealed that, on the transition to caregiving, older husbands were confronted with emerging tasks and expanding family roles. After entry into spousal care, as the spouses’ health status changes, caregiving husbands continuously adjust to changes occurring in the multiple, intertwined contexts and manage or modify the caregiving situation for their caregiving activities and the quality of care. Older husbands identify themselves as a caregiver by both personal and social recognitions. These findings contribute to an initial understanding of the complex, dynamic, ongoing process of being an older husband caregivers in the multiple, interrelated contexts. Based on these findings, implications for future research, practice, and policy were made and presented. INDEX WORDS: Spousal Caregiving, Older Husband, Caregiver, Transition, Phenomenology, South Korea BEING AN OLDER HUSBAND CAREGIVER IN SOUTH KOREA by WON JEE CHO B.S., Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, 1999 M.A., Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, 2001 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2012 © 2012 Won Jee Cho All Rights Reserved BEING AN OLDER HUSBAND CAREGIVER IN SOUTH KOREA by WON JEE CHO Major Professor: Denise C. Lewis Committee: David W. Wright Anne P.Glass Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2012 iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my father J.W. Cho, who had eagerly waited for a very long time but cannot be pleased with me, and to my mother, J.O. Kwon, and my sister’s family, W.J. Cho, D.Y. Kim, and G.E. Kim. This work certainly would not be possible without their infinite love, support, and patience. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my dissertation committee, Dr. David D. Wright and Dr. Anne P. Glass. Thank you for immense support and encouragement. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Denise C. Lewis, my advisor. Before I came to the United States for my doctoral education, I had never expected this long, tough journey. Her dedicated support and guidance have enabled me to reach the end of my academic journey. She always embraced and encouraged me whenever I personally, academically floundered around in the dark. She never failed to show me strong faith in what I have done even if it was little accomplishment I made. I feel so blessed to meet my long-life academic mother and mentor in Athens. My heartfelt thanks go to Dr. Gyeong Hye Han, Joo Hyun Kim, Jee Hoon Kim, Seung Eun Cha, Young Hye Hong, Sun Ok Hwang, Young Mi Kwon, Hyun Jeong Yoon, and Soo Jeong Yu for their unwavering support and invaluable mentoring from a distance. I am very grateful to my friends at the University of Georgia, including Tiffiany Aholou, Tricia Patricia L. Erwin, Ok Im Kang, Ji Hyun Sung, Soo Jung Jang, Yoo Kyeong Seok, Soo Hyun Kim, Hao-Min Chen, Yen-Lin Lee, and Seon Hwa Lee. I could not express my gratitude in words to my family. I am profoundly indebted to my parents for their unconditional trust and love. I know my mom has prayed for me and my dissertation every day. Thank you, Mom. Dad, can you see and hear everything in heaven? I know how much you would be proud of me and happy with me. I always miss you. My sister, Won Ju Cho, has always been willing to fill in my absence in the family and, whenever I need some advices, to help me with her warmest heart. I thank my brother-in-law, Dae Young Kim, vi who has supported and encouraged me to complete my doctoral education. My niece, Ga Eum Kim! You are my joy and love! I am eagerly looking forward to playing with you. My final and deepest appreciation goes to older husbands who participated in my dissertation study. The older husbands were the greatest contributors to this study. I am profoundly grateful to the participants for sharing their stories with me. Thank you for inviting me to their lives. Outside the academic world, they were my true partners, teachers, and mentors. I learned lots of things from them. Especially, I cannot forget three candies that one participant gave me after the interview. He was grateful to me for getting comforted and gave me all he had, the candies. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Purpose Statement .......................................................................................... 4 Significance of the Study ................................................................................ 5 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ....................................................................... 7 Caregiving and the Emergence of Men in Caregiving Literature ..................... 7 Older Husbands as Spouse Caregivers .......................................................... 10 The Theoretical Explanations of the Under Representation of Male Caregivers15 Husband Caregivers in the Korean Literature ............................................... 19 Cultural and Historical Contexts of Caregiving within Korean Society ......... 22 Social and Political Contexts of Caregiving within Korean Society .............. 26 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................................... 30 Phenomenology ............................................................................................ 30 4 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 34 Data Collection ............................................................................................ 34 Data Analysis ............................................................................................... 45 viii Trustworthiness ............................................................................................ 46 Subjectivity Statement .................................................................................. 49 Ethical Consideration ................................................................................... 50 5 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................ 52 Transitioning to Spousal Caregiving ............................................................. 52 Acclimating to Caregiving Role ................................................................... 56 6 CONCLUSION................................................................................................. 165 Social Constructionist Perspectives ............................................................ 168 Political Economic Perspective of Aging .................................................... 170 Life Course Perspective .............................................................................. 172 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................. 176 Implications for Future Research ................................................................ 177 Implications for Practice and Policy ........................................................... 178 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 181 APPENDICES A Interview Guide ............................................................................................... 207 B Consent Form ................................................................................................... 210 ix LIST OF TABLES Page Table 4.1: Participant Demographics ........................................................................................