Ambivalent ageism and the pains and gains of informal caregiving for older adults: Findings from Germany

Abstract

Background and Objectives: We analyzed the associations between ambivalent ageism, burden and positive experiences of care among informal caregivers of older adults (aged ≥ 60 years), to advance our understanding of its so far unknown role as psychosocial risk or resilience factor for informal caregivers. Design and Methods: Data of 433 informal caregivers (≥ 18 years) of adults with care needs (≥ 60 years) from the Attitudes towards Informal Caregivers (ATTIC) project was used. The Ambivalent Ageism Scale, Positive Aspects of Care Scale and the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers were used. Linear regression analyses adjusted for context and personal factors were conducted, including age and gender as moderators in additional tests. Results High ageism (total score) was significantly associated with a high level of positive aspects of care and burden. Further analyses showed a significant positive association between benevolent ageism and positive aspects of care, while stronger hostile ageism was associated with less positive aspects of care. Hostile ageism was also significantly associated with more burden, while benevolent ageism and burden were not associated. Additional analyses indicated no moderation by gender, but by age. The association between hostile ageism and burden was weaker with caregivers’ higher age. Discussion and Implications: Findings highlight the complex associations between ageism and caregivers’ well-being. While hostile ageism and worse caregiver burden were associated, positive care experiences seemed to benefit from benevolent ageism. Considering the danger of benevolent ageism for older adults’ well-being, this raises the question how to manage benevolent ageism among informal caregivers.