Publication type
Journal Article
Author
Publication date
June 15, 2023
Summary:
Drawing on the stress process, gender theory, and social roles theories, this study examines whether the associations between caregiving and mental health reflect the heterogeneity in caregiving experiences. It explores whether differences in care circumstances (location and intensity of care) and caregiver characteristics (gender and relation to care recipient) impact caregivers' health. While previous research has looked at these factors individually, this study uses longitudinal estimation methods to examine their combined associations with mental health. Using British data from the nationally representative panel survey Understanding Society (N = 366,907), fixed-effect models are used to assess the associations between the location and intensity of care, the caregiver's gender and relation to the care recipient on mental health. I report differences in mental health between non-caregivers and caregivers, as well as among caregivers across different care circumstances. While the results highlight the somewhat unique nature of each care circumstance and their relation to mental health, they uncover some general patterns. First, caregiving is a stressful social role. Second, care intensity is a crucial dimension of variation in the relationship between caregiving and mental health. Third, the location of care interacts with care relations only for the less intensive caregiver. Fourth, there is a gradation in the negative association between caregiving activities and mental health by care relations. Finally, female caregivers are more susceptible to role overload and role captivity. When the care act is more expected and normative, such as when caring for a spouse, there is no difference by gender in mental health. Yet, differences by gender are evidenced when the intensive care act is less normative. This study unveils nuanced patterns in the joint and unique relations between the care circumstances and caregiver characteristics with mental health, and underlines the importance of effective care support especially for spousal and female parental caregivers.
Published in
Social Science and Medicine
Volume
Volume: 326:115922
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115922
ISSN
2779536
Subjects
#557749