The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Maria Stanfors. Photo.

Maria Stanfors

Professor

Maria Stanfors. Photo.

Does Caring for Parents Take its Toll? Gender Differences in Caregiving Intensity, Coresidence, and Psychological Well-Being Across Europe

Author

  • Elisa Labbas
  • Maria Stanfors

Summary, in English

Given population ageing and the emphasis on in-home care, more working-age adults are facing the demands of providing unpaid care to the elderly with potential implications for their own well-being. Such effects likely vary across Europe because care is differently organized with a differing emphasis on public support, dependence on family, and orientation toward gender equality. We studied the relationship between unpaid caregiving for elderly parents and the psychological well-being of older working-age (50–64) men and women by analysing data from the Survey of Health, Retirement, and Ageing in Europe (SHARE), covering 18 countries between 2004 and 2020 (N = 24,338), using ordinary least squares (OLS). We examined risk of depression by caregiving intensity and tested whether coresidence mediated outcomes. Men and women providing care to parents experience important psychological well-being losses across Europe, especially when caregiving is intensive. A heavier caregiving burden associated with coresidence explains a regime gradient in depression, not least for women in Southern Europe. Results highlight the spillover costs of unpaid caregiving across Europe and the need to address caregiver psychological well-being, especially in contexts where state support for elder care is low and coresidence is common.

Department/s

  • Department of Economic History
  • Centre for Economic Demography

Publishing year

2023-06-28

Language

English

Publication/Series

European Journal of Population

Volume

39

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Economic History

Keywords

  • Unpaid caregiving
  • Psychological well-being
  • Coresidence
  • Gender
  • Country comparison
  • SHARE
  • OLS

Status

Published

Project

  • Longer working lives and unpaid caregiving: costs, conflicts and tradeoffs in a comparative perspective
  • Longer working lives and informal caregiving: Tradeoffs and economic value

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0168-6577