Gender and Informal Caregiving in CCRCs: Primary Caregivers or Support Networks?

Abstract

Relatively little research has been conducted on caregiving or kin support patterns among residents of newer forms of senior housing. The current research investigates variation in reported current or potential supporters by gender, age, and marital status among 687 residents of four continuing care retirement communities. Women and men tended to identify different configurations of social support, with the gender difference partially attributable to marital status (i.e., higher rates of widowhood among women). Age 75–84 was nonlinearly associated with more reported supporters, suggesting a shift in types of supporters by age. Unmarried persons more often identified friends and “others” in terms of support, in lieu of spousal support.

KEYWORDS:

• social support networks
• gender
• senior housing
• marital status

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Erickson Foundation for their assistance. We would specifically like to thank Dr. Jean Gaines, Dr. John Parrish, and Katherine Marx for their helpful advice and support.