Does Caring for Parents Take Its Toll? Gender Diferences in Caregiving Intensity, Coresidence, and Psychological Well‑Being Across Europe
- Författare
- Elisa Labbas, Maria Stanfors
- Titel
- Does Caring for Parents Take Its Toll? Gender Diferences in Caregiving Intensity, Coresidence, and Psychological Well‑Being Across Europe
- Utgivningsår
- 2023
- Tidskrift
- European journal of population,
- Volym
- 39
- Häfte
- 1
- Sidor
- 18-18, Article 18
- Url
- DOI: 10.1007/s10680-023-09666-3
- Nyckelord
- Unpaid caregiving, Psychological well-being, Coresidence, Gender
- Sammanfattning
Abstract
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 efects likely vary across Europe
because care is diferently organized with a difering 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 wellbeing 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.