Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POPULATION-REVUE EUROPEENNE DE DEMOGRAPHIE
Volume 39, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10680-023-09666-3
Keywords
Unpaid caregiving; Psychological well-being; Coresidence; Gender; Country comparison; SHARE; OLS
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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. We studied the relationship between unpaid caregiving for elderly parents and the psychological well-being of older working-age (50-64) men and women, finding that both men and women experience significant psychological well-being losses across Europe, particularly when the caregiving is intensive. The heavier caregiving burden associated with coresidence explains the depression levels, especially for women in Southern Europe.
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.
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