Caregiver Stress and Mental Health: Impact of Caregiving Relationship and Gender

Margaret J. Penning, Zheng Wu, Caregiver Stress and Mental Health: Impact of Caregiving Relationship and Gender, The Gerontologist, Volume 56, Issue 6, 1 December 2016, Pages 1102–1113, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnv038

Abstract

This study compared the stress and mental health implications of caregiving to a spouse, children, siblings, other family members, friends, and others among middle-aged and older male and female caregivers.

Multivariate regression analyses were conducted using 2007 Canadian General Social Survey data collected on a subsample of caregivers aged 45 and older.

Our analyses revealed that for women, caring for a spouse or children was more stressful and detrimental to mental health than caring for parents or others. Similarly, for men, caring for a spouse and for children was more stressful than caring for others but did not adversely affect overall mental health.

The findings suggest that spousal and child caregiving tend to be more rather than less stressful and detrimental to middle-aged and older caregivers’ mental health than is caregiving to most others but that gender differences need to be considered.

Family and other informal caregivers provide the vast majority of long-term care to older adults as well as others with chronic illnesses and disabilities ( Ennis, Rosenbloom, Canzian, & Topolovec-Vranic, 2013; Viana et al., 2013). In Canada, approximately 8.1 million caregivers (28% of the population aged 15 and older and 35% of those aged 45 and older) provided care to a family member or friend with a long-term health condition, a disability, or problems associated with aging during the past 12 months: 48% provided care primarily to a parent or parent-in-law, 8% to a spouse or partner, and 5% to a child. The remainder (39%) provided care to other family members (23%) or friends, colleagues, or neighbors (16%; Sinha, 2013; Turcotte, 2013; Turner & Findlay, 2012). This is comparable to figures reported in other industrial countries including the United States ( National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, 2009).

To date, numerous studies have addressed the impact of caregiving on the health and well-being of caregivers. In general, empirical accounts suggest that caregiving is stressful and therefore, likely to have negative implications for the mental health and well-being of caregivers. However, limited research attention has been directed toward the implications of caregiver–care recipient relationships for an understanding of caregiving outcomes ( Litwin, Stoeckel, & Roll, 2014) as well as the role of gender, age, or other social structural factors in influencing these implications. Yet, recent theoretical and empirical developments direct our attention to their combined importance for an understanding of the experience and consequences of caregiving. This study addresses these gaps in knowledge, examining the stress and mental health implications of caregiving for a spouse, children, parents, siblings, other family members, and nonfamily (friends, neighbors, coworkers) among middle-aged and older male and female caregivers.

Background

Notwithstanding the positive aspects of caregiving, including feelings of affection and closeness within these relationships and the sense of personal satisfaction and purpose in life that may be derived from it ( Litwin et al., 2014; Turner & Findlay, 2012), caregiving tends to be seen as having negative implications for caregivers’ mental health ( Pinquart & Sörensen, 2003; Savage & Bailey, 2004). To a large extent, however, research in the area tends to focus on care recipients who are older and consequently, on adult child caregivers to older parents. As a result, questions arise as to whether findings regarding the negative implications of caregiving reflect the specific experiences of this group but differ for those in other types of caregiving relationships.

On the one hand, stress process models (e.g., Aneshensel, Pearlin, Mullan, Zarit, & Whitlatch, 1995) as well as social role theory and associated notions of role strain, role conflict, and role overload (e.g., Stephens, Townsend, Martire, & Druley, 2001), have led to suggestions that whereas caregiving in general is stressful, caring for an older parent is particularly stressful and consequently, has a more negative impact on care receivers’ mental health and well-being than is caregiving for an older spouse or other family member or nonmember. It has been noted, for example, that adult child caregivers “view caregiving as extra work (role overload) and experience the burden of role reversal” ( Chappell, Dujela, & Smith, 2014, p. 463) whereas spouses usually do not face conflicts between the caregiver role and other family and work-related roles ( Lin, Fee, & Wu, 2012; Pinquart & Sörensen, 2007). As well, it has been argued that caregiving for a spouse is considered part of one’s marriage vows and thus, more normative (expected and thus accepted) than caregiving for other frail persons ( Chappell et al., 2014; Lin et al., 2012).

However, recent theorizing grounded in notions of ambivalence suggests a more complex and differentiated scenario. As a concept, ambivalence tends to be used to refer to the simultaneous evaluation of relationships as both positive and negative ( Willson, Shuey, & Elder, 2003). Whereas psychological ambivalence tends to be seen in terms of contradictory feeling states or emotions of individuals, sociological ambivalence draws attention to its sources, specifically the “pressures imposed by contradictory demands or norms placed on an individual in a particular social location, role, or relationship” ( Willson et al., 2003, p. 1056). For example, Connidis and McMullin (2002a, 2002b) suggest that caregivers experience ambivalence when they must contend with “structurally created contradictions” in their interpersonal relationships, including those with other family members. These include contradictions between their attempts to exercise agency (so as to meet their own individual needs) and normative obligations requiring them to provide care to family members. Gender and other (e.g., age, class, race, and ethnic) relations are seen as being socially structured in ways that are evident in familial relationships. Thus, the family represents an institution through which gender and other inequalities are played out and as a result, reinforced. They determine the options that various people will have with respect to caring work (e.g., options regarding whether, how, and when to engage in caring work). For example, since women tend to “have fewer options for resisting the pressure to provide care than do men” they are “more likely to experience the ambivalence that results from pressure to provide care and limited individual agency to resist this pressure” ( Connidis & McMullin, 2002a, p. 563).

Ambivalence, in turn, is seen as having implications for the quality of the relationships as well as for how caring work and other issues are responded to. By implication, structural ambivalence is a negative or uncomfortable experience and an issue to be resolved. Accordingly, Lüscher and Pillemer (1998) see psychological or individual ambivalence as referring to “the feelings or sentiments experienced by individuals when faced with structural ambivalence” ( Bengtson, Giarrusso, Mabry, & Silverstein, 2002, p. 569). Empirical evidence supports this link, indicating that those who report greater ambivalence also show poorer psychological well-being (e.g., Fingerman, Pitzer, Lefkowitz, Birditt, & Mroczek, 2008).

To date, however, empirical evidence regarding the implications of different types of caregiving relationship for perceptions of ambivalence or its implications is lacking. Comparative research investigating the implications of caregiver–care recipient relationships for psychological well-being tends to be limited to specific subgroups and the results inconsistent ( Litwin et al., 2014). A number of studies report finding that adult child caregivers experience significantly greater burden than other family caregivers ( Andren & Elmstahl, 2007; Chappell et al., 2014) whereas spouses experience less burden than others (e.g., Bookwala & Schultz, 2000). In direct contrast, however, others report that spouses experience more burden than adult child caregivers (e.g., Hong & Kim, 2008; Ott, Sanders, & Kelber, 2007) or nonspousal caregivers generally ( Kim, Chang, Rose, & Kim, 2012; Mohamed, Rosenbeck, Lyketsos, & Schneider, 2010). Recently, based on data from adults residing in 19 countries, Viana and colleagues (2013) found greater burden being reported for care of parents, spouses, and children than siblings whereas Shahly et al. (2013), focusing on caregivers aged 50 and older, reported finding greater burden reported for the care of spouses and children than parents or siblings.

Findings from studies of psychological well-being indicators other than burden frequently indicate that spouses are worse off than adult children. Pinquart and Sörensen’s (2011) meta-analysis of studies comparing caregiving spouses, adult children, and children-in-law, led them to conclude that “spouse caregivers report more depression symptoms … and lower levels of psychological well-being” (p. 1) Based on such findings, Litwin and colleagues (2014) conclude that “long-term spousal care …presents the greatest challenge to caregiver mental health among the respective relationship types” (p. 230).

Less is known regarding how middle-aged and older spousal and adult child caregivers compare to parental caregivers of children with long-term illnesses or disabilities. Poor psychological well-being has also been documented among middle-aged and older parent caregivers of children with mental health or developmental problems ( Ha, Hong, Seltzer, & Greenberg, 2008). For example, Litwin and colleagues (2014, p. 230) found that along with spousal caregivers, coresident caregivers of adult children experienced more depressive symptoms than those who gave care to parents or others. Similarly, Ennis and colleagues’ (2013) systematic review found high levels of caregiver distress regardless of caregiver type (parent vs. spouse) among caregivers of adults with traumatic brain injury. In contrast, however, Robison, Fortinsky, Kleppinger, Shugrue, and Porter (2009) found no impact of caregiver/care receiver relationship on psychosocial outcomes. However, in their study, relationship was measured based on generation of the care receiver (i.e., whether care receivers were in an older generation, the same generation, or a younger generation relative to the caregiver).

Even less is known regarding how middle-aged and older spousal, parental and adult child caregivers compare to caregivers of siblings, friends, or other more distal care recipients. Chen and Lukens (2011) compared parent and sibling caregiving for a family member with severe and persistent mental illness and found sibling status was associated with greater emotional well-being but had no impact on burden or depressive symptoms. Finally, Marks, Lambert, and Choi’s (2002) study of transitions into caregiving among primary kin (i.e., child, spouse, parent), parent-in-law, other kin and nonkin among adults of all ages, found evidence of negative implications for psychological well-being (depression, happiness) but primarily among caregivers of primary kin: “providing care to a parent-in-law was not associated with negative effects for women or men…. The caregiving relationship type with the lowest level of normative obligation (and therefore, we would expect, the greatest degree of voluntary effort), the care of a nonkin associate, was the … type associated with the most beneficial effects…” (p. 665).

The Present Study

The preceding review suggests a need to focus attention on the implications of the caregiver’s relationship to the care recipient and gender for understanding of the caregiving experience, including the mental health and well-being of caregivers. Despite extensive attention to the implications of caregiving for caregiver mental health and well-being, little is known regarding the impact of the relationship of the caregiver to care receiver. Where studied, the focus tends to be on older adults as recipients of care, most often provided by adult children. Consequently, the implications of parental caregiving compared with those associated with caregiving to a spouse/partner, to children, or to others, remain unclear. Furthermore, although gender differences in caregiving outcomes are well-documented, little is known regarding whether and how the implications of the caregiver to care recipient relationship differ by gender. Thus, although research tends to report finding that female caregivers report more burden as well as greater stress and depression than do male caregivers ( Kim et al., 2012; Li, Mak, & Loke, 2013; Litwin et al., 2014), the implications of intersections involving gender and relationship status are less clear.

To address these gaps, this study drew on national survey data to examine the stress and overall mental health implications of spousal caregiving compared with those associated with providing care for children, parents, siblings, other family members, and nonfamily (friends, neighbors, coworkers). Two research questions were examined: (a) What impact does the relationship of the caregiver to the care receiver have on stress and mental health outcomes of caregivers? (b) Secondly, does this impact vary depending on caregivers’ gender? The analyses controlled for characteristics of the caregiver (age, marital status, living arrangements, education, employment, income, and health status) and care recipient (age, nature of problem requiring assistance, contact with caregiver, and length of care receipt) that have been previously shown to influence stress and mental health among caregivers ( Pinquart & Sörensen, 2006, 2011).

Data and Methods

Data

Data for the analyses came from the 2007 Canadian General Social Survey, Cycle 21 (GSS-21), conducted by Statistics Canada. The GSS program is an annual national survey that gathers individual- and household-level data to monitor changes in social conditions and the well-being of Canadians ( Statistics Canada, 2009). In addition to collecting basic demographic and socioeconomic data, each GSS cycle has a specific thematic focus, such as family, time-use or victimization. The thematic focus of the GSS-21 was aging and social support. It collected detailed information on social support, family history, retirement planning and experience, informal care, and health.

The GSS-21 target population included Canadians aged 45 and older living in all 10 provinces, excluding Canadians living in the northern territories (remote areas) and full-time residents of institutions. The survey was conducted through telephone interviews. As such, households without telephones were excluded, representing 0.9% of the target population ( Statistics Canada, 2009). Households with cellular phone service only (6.4% of Canadian households) were also excluded. Although exclusion of cellular phone only households is a limitation, it is unlikely to significantly bias our regression estimates insofar as cellular phone only households are primarily young adult households ( Blumberg & Luke, 2008). In 2008, less than 2% of Canadian adults aged 55 and older relied exclusively on cell phones ( Statistics Canada, 2014). As well, our data were weighted to represent the entire target population (including cellular phone only households) in the analyses.

The GSS-21 includes a nationally representative sample of 23,404 Canadians aged 45 and older, with an overall response rate of 57.7%. To study caregiving and health, our study population is limited to caregivers. The GSS-21 identified caregivers by the question, “During the past 12 months, did you provide any assistance to an individual because of a long-term health condition or physical limitation? Exclude paid assistance to clients or patients.” For those who answered affirmatively, more information was collected about the primary care recipient—the person to whom the respondent had dedicated the most time and resources (due to a long-term health condition or physical limitation, excluding paid assistance to clients or patients)—and various activities the respondent engaged in to help the primary care recipient. Our study sample included all respondents who had provided such assistance in the past 12 months (n = 6,140). Cases with missing data for the dependent variables and the primary independent variables were minimal (n = 34) and thus were removed from the analyses. With the exception of household income, missing data for the control variables were generally insignificant (less than one-half percent) and were imputed using multiple imputation techniques ( Rubin, 1987). For household income, missing data were nontrivial (18.4%). Thus, a dummy variable for missing household income was added to all regression models.

Measures

The study considered two dependent variables tapping the psychological well-being of the caregivers. We measured self-rated stress on a 5-point Likert scale, using responses from the question: “Thinking of the amount of stress in your life, would you say that most days are: (a) not at all stressful, (b) not very stressful, (c) a bit stressful, (d) quite a bit stressful, or (e) extremely stressful?” ( Lim, Williams, & Hagen, 2005; Littman, White, Satia, Bowen, & Kristal, 2006). Similarly, self-rated mental health was also measured on a 5-point scale, using the question: “In general would say your mental health is: (a) poor, (b) fair, (c) good, (d) very good, or (e) excellent?” ( Mawani & Gilmour, 2010).

Our main independent variable was the respondent’s relationship to the primary care recipient. As noted, all caregivers were asked to identify a primary care recipient (the person to whom the respondent had dedicated the most time and resources during the past 12 months) and information was collected about their relationship to the recipient. We measured this relationship as a six-level categorical variable: (a) respondent’s own child; (b) respondent’s own parent; (c) respondent’s sibling; (d) other family such as a grandchild, a grandparent, an in-law, a relative, or an ex-partner/spouse; (e) a friend, a neighbors, a coworker or someone else; and (f) respondent’s spouse or partner (the reference group).

Various characteristics of the caregiving network, the caregiver, the care recipient, and care activities were also controlled for in the analyses. We included two variables to measure the caregiving network: whether the respondent was the primary caregiver (1 = yes, 0 = no), and the size of the caregiving network (i.e., the number of other people providing informal care to the care recipient). Caregiver characteristics included their age (measured in years), current marital status [measured in five mutually exclusive categories: (a) cohabiting, (b) widowed, (c) separated/divorced, (d) never married, and (e) married (the reference group)], coresidence (1 = living alone, 0 = otherwise), education (ranging from 1 = elementary school education or less to 10 = some post-graduate education or more), employment status [a three-level categorical variable: (a) currently working at a paid job/business, (b) other employment situations (e.g., working inside the home, looking for work), and c) retired (the reference group)], household income (a five-level categorical variable), and health status (assessed using two indicators: activity limitations—a dummy variable, indicating whether the respondent reported any amount/kind of limitation in regular activity at home, work, or in other activities due to a physical or mental condition, or health problem—and the presence of chronic conditions—a dummy variable, indicating the presence of any chronic condition—e.g., arthritis or rheumatism, back problems, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, or cancer). Two variables reflected care recipient characteristics: age (in years) and the nature of the problem(s) that required assistance [a categorical variable with four categories: (a) mental, (b) both physical and mental, (c) something else, and (d) physical (the reference group)]. Finally, we included two measures of care activities: frequency of visiting/seeing the recipient [an ordinal variable: (a) less than once a month, (b) at least once a month, (c) at least once a week, and (d) daily (the reference group)] and length of time spent providing care (in years).

Statistical Models

We used ordinary least squares (OLS) models for the regression analyses. Since both dependent variables were ordinal variables, we experimented with ordered logit models ( Long, 1997). Comparing the two sets of the results, however, we found no substantive differences in either the nature or the magnitude of the parameter estimates. For ease of interpretation, we therefore report the OLS results in this article. In addition, we carefully assessed key model assumptions (e.g., multicollinearity, outliers) and did not detect any serious violations (results of the sensitivity analyses available upon request). Where models were run separately for male and female caregivers, we also tested for the significance of differences in the regression coefficients (unstandardized) associated with the relationship to the care recipient (results not reported but available upon request).

Results

Overall, 26.2% of those in the overall sample reported that they provided care for someone with a long-term health condition or physical limitation during the past 12 months. Most (56.7% of the target population) of those who reported having provided such care were women. Among female as well as male caregivers, the most frequently reported primary care recipient was a parent (35.1%; Table 1). Over one-quarter (26.2%) provided care to nonfamily members (such as friends, neighbors, or coworkers). The next most frequent category of primary care recipients included other family members (e.g., grandchildren, grandparents, in-laws—16.8%), followed by spouses (10.3%), siblings (5.8%), and children (5.7%). Female caregivers were somewhat more likely than male caregivers to report caring for children, parents, and siblings whereas male caregivers were somewhat more likely to report other family and nonfamily members as primary care recipients. However, when it came to spousal support, the gender gap was considerably reduced.

Descriptive Statistics of the Variables Used in the Regression Models: Canadians (Age 45+), 2007

Note: Weighted means or percentages, unweighted N.

a Significance tests of differences between women and men.

Source: The 2007 Canadian General Social Survey.

Descriptive Statistics of the Variables Used in the Regression Models: Canadians (Age 45+), 2007

Note: Weighted means or percentages, unweighted N.

a Significance tests of differences between women and men.

Source: The 2007 Canadian General Social Survey.

The mean age of the care recipients was 71.5 years, with little difference evident depending on caregiver gender. Physical health problems were the most common problems encountered by the care recipients, followed by both physical and mental health problems, and mental health problems only. Male caregivers were somewhat more likely than female caregivers to report providing care to individuals with physical health problems; female caregivers were more likely to report caring for individuals with mental or both physical and mental health problems. Table 1 also shows that nearly 80% of female and 75% of male caregivers visited or saw the care recipient at least once a week. Many (31% of women and 27% of men) visited/saw the recipient on a daily basis. The average length of care provision was close to 6 years and did not differ by gender.

Table 1 also shows that although the mean level of self-rated stress was somewhat higher among female than male caregivers, no significant difference was evident in terms of self-rated mental health. A comparison of mean levels of stress and mental health by both gender and relationship of the caregiver to the care receiver ( Figure 1), indicates that women reported higher levels of stress than men across all caregiving relationships. In addition, stress was highest among those caring for a spouse followed by children and parents. With regard to self-rated mental health, in contrast, the findings suggest considerable disparity associated with both gender and relationship to the care recipient: whereas male caregivers reported better mental health than female caregivers when comparing caregivers to a spouse, children, parents, and other family members, female caregivers reported better mental health among those caring for siblings and nonfamily members.

Mean level of self-rated stress and mental health by gender and relationship to care receiver. (A) Self-rated stress. (B) Self-rated mental health. Source: The 2007 Canadian General Social Survey.

Table 2 presents regression estimates (unstandardized) obtained for models in which self-rated stress was regressed on caregiver relationship to the care receiver, by caregiver gender. The findings reveal that for both female and male caregivers, both before and after the introduction of control variables, caring for siblings, for other family members (i.e., other than spouse, children, parents, or siblings), and for nonfamily members were associated with less stress than was caring for one’s spouse (the reference category). No differences were evident when comparing self-rated stress levels among caregivers to children and to a spouse. However, although no differences were initially evident when comparing stress levels reported by those caring for a parent versus those caring for a spouse, the introduction of controls revealed a significant negative relationship between caring for parents and self-rated stress: parental caregivers reported experiencing lower stress compared with those in the reference category (spousal caregivers). This was the case for both male and female caregivers, with no significant difference evident between the regression estimates obtained with regard to parental caregiving when influencing self-rated stress (results not reported).

Ordinary Least Squares Regression of Self-Rated Stress on Relationship to Care Receiver and Selected Characteristics: Canadians (Age 45+), 2007

Note: All models include a dummy variable for missing household income.

Source: The 2007 Canadian General Social Survey.