Peranan Kesejahteraan Keluarga dan Daya Tahan dalam Pengukuhan Keluarga Sandwich (The Role of Family Wellbeing and Resilience in Strengthening Sandwich Families)

Abstract

                                                                      ABSTRAK

Cabaran yang dihadapi oleh anak dewasa abad ke 21 yang berhadapan dengan generasi sandwich (iaitu kerjaya, menjaga keluarga nuklear dan  ibu bapa tua mereka) kurang dianalisis atau dibincangkan secara meluas. Kesejahteraan, kebahagiaan dan daya tahan keluarga memainkan peranan utama dalam pengukuhan keluarga sandwich. Tujuan utama kajian ini ialah untuk memahami pengalaman peranan kesejahteraan keluarga dan daya tahan dalam kalangan generasi sandwich di Malaysia. Pengumpulan data telah dilakukan dengan menggunakan kaedah temu bual mendalam ke atas 30 orang responden berumur 33-55 tahun. Dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa terdapat tema utama komponen kesejahteraan generasi sandwich seperti penerimaan tanggungjawab, kebahagiaan, sokongan sosial dan daya tahan. Hampir semua penjaga dalam kalangan keluarga sandwich mengalami pengalaman positif dalam penjagaan warga tua. Penjaga generasi sandwich yang tinggal bersama ibu bapa tua mereka mempunyai hubungan timbal balik dan saling menyokong aktiviti penjagaan informal dalam keluarga dan komuniti. Penekanan nilai kekeluargaan yang utuh dijalinkan secara harmoni sebagai pemangkin dalam konteks penjagaan informal dalam kalangan keluarga sandwich bagi mencapai kesejahteraan keluarga. Generasi sandwich juga menampilkan kebahagiaan dan daya tahan yang tinggi dalam hubungan intergenerasi. Kajian ini juga mencadangkan bahawa kerajaan dan NGO perlu mengambil kira penyampaian perkhidmatan melalui latihan kemahiran penjagaan kepada penjaga dewasa dan memahami kemampuan keluarga untuk bertahan bagi menjamin kelestarian generasi sandwich di masa depan.

Kata kunci: Generasi sandwich; kesejahteraan; daya tahan; penjaga; warga tua

                                                    ABSTRACT

The challenges faced by the twenty-first century’s ‘sandwich generation’ i.e. mid-life adults with responsibilty for their aging parents, are many. These include maintaining a career whilst also balancing commitments to children and parents. Family well-being, happiness and resilience play key roles in strengthening family units in these circumstances yet, they are not widely analyzed or discussed. The main objective of this study is to understand how well-being and resilience are incorporated into family life in ‘sandwich generation’ Malaysian families. It is based on the results of thirty in-depth interviews of respondents aged 33-55 years. The study’s findings indicate that several major factors affect the well-being of sandwich families. These include: acceptance of responsibility, happiness, social support and resilience. For instance, almost all the respondents had positive experiences in caring for the elderly. Our sandwich generation caregivers who live with their elderly parents experience a relationship of reciprocity, whereby support is offered to the whole family in terms of informal care in both family and community. In this context, family values are interwoven harmoniously with parental and childcare responsibilities, serving as a catalyst for achieving family well-being. Our respondents also express a high level of happiness and resilience in their intergenerational relationships. This study concludes by suggesting that governments and NGOs should consider offering training in the skills necessary for adult caregivers, to better equip sandwich generation families to deal with challenges, and to ensure the sustainability of sandwich generation families in the future.

Keywords: sandwich generation; well-being; resilient; caregiver; aging

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/akad-8501-03