ITHACA, NY - Newswise noted mothers 65-75 are almost four times as likely to expect a daughter, not a son, to be a caregiver if they’re sick or disabled, states a Cornell University study.  These mothers are much more likely to name a child to whom they feel close emotionally, with similar values, report Karl Pillemer, Cornell human development professor, and Jill Suitor, Purdue University sociologist, in The Gerontologist.  "Children's competing marital or parental roles/responsibilities, mental health, legal or abuse woes aren’t related to which child mothers view as their likely caregiver," said Pillemer.  Pillemer and Suitor did in-person interviews with a Boston area sample of 566 mothers.  They found that whether children had gotten support from their mothers in the recent past wasn’t accounted for by the mothers, despite other studies that indicate it’s precisely such children who are mostly likely to provide help when it’s needed.  Older mothers tended to name the child from whom they received the most help in the past - usually a daughter.  "Gender was definitely the trump card," Pillemer said.  "Mothers vastly expected that daughters would care for them, even [with] available sons."  Daughters were probably named so often, he said, because mothers tend to feel closest to daughters due to shared experiences and embarrassment if sons had to perform personal-care tasks.  Discussing future care with older parents is important, Pillemer said, because aging parents' expectations may not be realistic.  The study was supported, in part, by the National Institute on Aging.  Karl Pillemer is at www.human.cornell.edu/che/bio.cfm?netid=kap6.