Previous research on the care-giver burden experienced by adult children has typically focused on the adult child and parent dyad. This study uses information on multiple informal care-givers and examines how characteristics of the informal care-giving network affect the adult child's care-giver burden. In 2007, 602 Dutch care-givers who were assisting their older parents reported on parental and personal characteristics, care activities, experienced burden and characteristics of other informal care-givers. A path model was applied to assess the relative impact of the informal care-giving network characteristics on the care-giver burden. An adult child experienced lower care-giver burden when the informal care-giving network size was larger, when more types of tasks were shared across the network, when care was shared for a longer period, and when the adult child had no disagreements with the other members of the network. Considering that the need for care of older parents is growing, being in an informal care-giving network will be of increasing benefit for adult children involved in long-term care. More care-givers will turn into managers of care, as they increasingly have to organise the sharing of care among informal helpers and cope with disagreements among the members of the network.
This study examines the degree to which siblings' behaviors and characteristics influence a child's caregiving. A sample of 186 older parents in need of care with at least two adult children reported on characteristics and caregiving of all their children (N = 703). Multilevel regression models show that there is evidence of children's joint caregiving efforts: The more care siblings give, the more care the child gives. Results demonstrate that the more sisters a child has, the less care that child gives. Children also substitute and support each other: The greater the number of siblings with partners and the lower the frequency of sibling emotional support exchanges with a parent, the more care the child gives. The study reflects the various outcomes of sibling solidarity when older parents become dependent.
This study examines the degree to which the sharing of parental care, as indicated by the amount of children participating in caregiving and by equality in caregiving intensity, is associated with similarities among sibling characteristics. A selected sample of 186 parents with at least two children was asked to report on the assistance provided by all their children. Results reveal that in most families the care was shared between children. However, there was a large variation in caregiving intensity. Multivariate regression analyses show that similarities in employment status among children predicted a higher chance that the care was shared and a higher degree of equality in caregiving intensity among siblings. Similarities in partner status and emotional support exchanges with parents were associated with the equality among siblings in caregiving intensity. Results from this study suggest that siblings with similar characteristics and opportunities are more likely to share care (equally).
Work and informal care: a risk for mental health? Work and informal care: a risk for mental health? This study aims to increase insight in how providing informal care is associated with mental health among employees. The focus is on to what degree the provision of informal care, directly or in interaction with work and organizational characteristics, has an impact on the level of mental fatigue as indicator of mental health. Data are derived from 8,435 employers in fifty companies who completed an online questionnaire provided by the Association Work&Care. Of all employees, 23% provides informal care to someone in need of care and, on average, this group experienced a higher level of mental fatigue compared to non-caring employees. Multivariate multilevel analyses show that providing informal care has a unique and direct effect on mental fatigue, in addition to characteristics of work (working fulltime, work motivation) and the support perceived in the organization. Moreover, the lack of support and few opportunities to discuss informal care increase the level of mental fatigue more among informal caregivers than among non-caring employees. It is concluded that providing informal care may harm the mental health of employees, and that an open and understanding organizational culture enables employees to better combine tasks in work and informal care.
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