Gender Differences in Social Support Received by Informal Caregivers: A Personal Network Analysis Approach

Abstract

Social support is an important predictor of the health of a population. Few studies have analyzed the influence of caregivers’ personal networks from a gender perspective. The aim of this study was to analyze the composition, structure, and function of informal caregiver support networks and to examine gender differences. It also aimed to explore the association between different network characteristics and self-perceived health among caregivers. We performed a social network analysis study using a convenience sample of 25 female and 25 male caregivers. A descriptive analysis of the caregivers and bivariate analyses for associations with self-perceived health were performed. The structural metrics analyzed were density; degree centrality mean; betweenness centrality mean; and number of cliques, components, and isolates. The variability observed in the structure of the networks was not explained by gender. Some significant differences between men and women were observed for network composition and function. Women received help mainly from women with a similar profile to them. Men’s networks were broader and more diverse and they had more help from outside family circles, although these outcomes were not statistically significant. Our results indicate the need to develop strategies that do not reinforce traditional gender roles, but rather encourage a greater sharing of responsibility among all parties.

Predicting Caregiver Burden in Informal Caregivers for the Elderly in Ecuador

“…Informal male and female caregivers also differ in their main coping mechanisms [ 42 ]. Males tend to use more active stress-management mechanisms, such as those based on substance use, while females tend to rely on more passive mechanisms based on praying and hoping for the best.…”

Burden and Gender inequalities around Informal Care

“…Besides, it has been observed that women and male caregivers receive different support from the family, with, once again, women receiving less family support, while male caregivers receive more collaboration. (35) In addition to the consequences on health, time and family relationships, in the area of professional and paid work-life, known as the produc-tive sphere, (37) there are also important effects. Among the economic consequences are: not being able to work outside the home, having had to leave work or to reduce working hours, having problems at work due to difficulties in meeting schedules or not being able to go to work in emergencies.…”

Satisfaction with Social Support Received from Social Relationships in Cases of Chronic Pain: The Influence of Personal Network Characteristics in Terms of Structure, Composition and Functional Content

“…Social support has been studied in several contexts, one of which is informal caregiving [27,28]. Compared to other approaches in social support research, personal network analysis (PNA), also labeled as egocentric network analysis in the literature [29], is based on the ensemble of relationships that surround an individual (ego) across social settings (i.e., family, work colleagues, neighbors, .…”