Socioeconomic inequalities in the wellbeing of informal caregivers across Europe

Abstract

Objectives

Due to increasing care needs and decreasing care potentials, research around informal caregiving gains attention. Relatively new – but of utmost importance – is the role of socioeconomic inequalities in care and wellbeing. Although caregiving can be rewarding, a growing body of research shows that informal caregiving often has negative consequences for individuals’ wellbeing. Theoretically, we expect these negative outcomes to be more pronounced among caregivers with lower socioeconomic resources. The current study examines socioeconomic inequalities in the consequences of caregiving inside the household for life satisfaction.

Methods

We draw on longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE waves 2, 4, 5, and 6). We estimated pooled ordinary least squares and fixed-effects regression models to examine the consequences of informal care provision within the household for individuals’ life satisfaction, and whether household wealth moderates this relationship, controlling for individuals’ sociodemographic and health characteristics.

Results

Care provision inside the household was negatively associated with older adults’ life satisfaction. The longitudinal analyses accordingly show that the uptake of care led to declines in life satisfaction. Differentiating by socioeconomic background, we find that caregivers with higher socioeconomic resources in terms of wealth generally experienced higher life satisfaction. Our longitudinal analyses on wellbeing declines reveal, however, that these mechanisms did not significantly differ by socioeconomic status of the caregiver.

Discussion

Our findings suggest the need for increased investments in support services for informal caregivers to mitigate caregiving burdens, irrespective of socioeconomic status, and enhance later life wellbeing.

Keywords:

• Family
• wealth
• life satisfaction
• longitudinal

Disclosure statement

We have no conflict of interest to declare.

Funding

This study is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the Open Research Area for the Social Sciences (ORA) (Grant BR 3868/4-1), to M. Brandt for the project “IN-CARE: How are varying care systems associated with inequalities in care and wellbeing in later life?”

Ethical approval

No ethical approval was required for our study.

Additional information

Funding

This study is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the Open Research Area for the Social Sciences (ORA) (Grant BR 3868/4-1), to M. Brandt for the project “IN-CARE: How are varying care systems associated with inequalities in care and wellbeing in later life?”