Abstract:Multigenerational caregiving is important because it affects social and economic outcomes. Existing studies usually exclude theoretically and empirically important aspects—emotional care and horizontal care—that may systematically underestimate gender differences. In this study, we comprehensively describe caregiving by gender and age and examine how sensitive estimates are to the inclusion of directions and types of care. Using the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) in Europe (N = 114,147), we find that wome… Show more
“…3 Those who responded positively that they provided adult care to family members of 65 and over were coded as caregivers. The sample includes those who provide horizontal care (care to spouses and siblings), which is shown to be important and needs to be included in the measurement of caregiving in the caregiving literature (Patterson and Margolis 2019). In 2006 STULA, co-residing caregivers comprised 64.11% of all elder caregivers (3555 out of 5545 observations).…”
Using the data of the 2006 Japanese Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities, we perform cluster analysis and identify seven unique patterns of daily time-use patterns of co-resident family elder caregivers: (1) ‘Overworkers’, (2) ‘Full-time Workers’, (3) ‘Part-time Workers’, (4) ‘Intensive Caregivers’, (5) ‘Houseworkers’, (6) ‘Leisurely’, and (7) caregivers, who needed medical attention on the diary day (‘Emergency Diaries’). Our results show that the ‘Houseworkers’ and ‘Intensive Caregivers’ spend the most time on adult caregiving activities. Care activities for ‘Houseworkers’ are more likely to coincide with longer housework hours, increasing the total unpaid work volume. The analysis of demographic profiles suggests that similar daily patterns on weekdays and weekends do not belong to people with the same demographic characteristics. For instance, although on weekdays, ‘Leisurely Caregivers’ are mostly represented by the elderly taking care of other elderly, people of any age can belong to this category on weekends. Among all types of caregivers, only 'Intensive Caregivers' are as likely to be men as they can be women, suggesting that when the need for eldercare increases, family caregivers of any gender will step in.
“…3 Those who responded positively that they provided adult care to family members of 65 and over were coded as caregivers. The sample includes those who provide horizontal care (care to spouses and siblings), which is shown to be important and needs to be included in the measurement of caregiving in the caregiving literature (Patterson and Margolis 2019). In 2006 STULA, co-residing caregivers comprised 64.11% of all elder caregivers (3555 out of 5545 observations).…”
Using the data of the 2006 Japanese Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities, we perform cluster analysis and identify seven unique patterns of daily time-use patterns of co-resident family elder caregivers: (1) ‘Overworkers’, (2) ‘Full-time Workers’, (3) ‘Part-time Workers’, (4) ‘Intensive Caregivers’, (5) ‘Houseworkers’, (6) ‘Leisurely’, and (7) caregivers, who needed medical attention on the diary day (‘Emergency Diaries’). Our results show that the ‘Houseworkers’ and ‘Intensive Caregivers’ spend the most time on adult caregiving activities. Care activities for ‘Houseworkers’ are more likely to coincide with longer housework hours, increasing the total unpaid work volume. The analysis of demographic profiles suggests that similar daily patterns on weekdays and weekends do not belong to people with the same demographic characteristics. For instance, although on weekdays, ‘Leisurely Caregivers’ are mostly represented by the elderly taking care of other elderly, people of any age can belong to this category on weekends. Among all types of caregivers, only 'Intensive Caregivers' are as likely to be men as they can be women, suggesting that when the need for eldercare increases, family caregivers of any gender will step in.
“…Unpaid caregiving also includes providing assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADL), such as dressing and bathing, as well as Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), such as doing housework and shopping (Spillman and Pezzin 2000 ). These forms of care are often provided to disabled, ill, or elderly family members and can occur throughout the life course as family members experience disability or illness, but are more likely to occur as parents and partners enter their elderly years (Patterson and Margolis 2019 ). At every life stage, women and men face a different set of familial expectations that are embedded in kinship structures and gender dynamics (Ferree 1990 , 2010 ).…”
Section: Literature Reviewmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…At every life stage, women and men face a different set of familial expectations that are embedded in kinship structures and gender dynamics (Ferree 1990 , 2010 ). In keeping with these differential expectations, a gender gap in unpaid care work emerges at every stage of the life course (Craig and Mullan 2011 ; Glaser et al 2013 ; Grigoryeva 2017 ; Hank and Buber 2009 ; Leopold et al 2014 ; Patterson and Margolis 2019 ; Raley et al 2012 ; Sarkisian and Gerstel 2004 ; Schmid et al 2012 ).…”
Section: Literature Reviewmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Still, women live longer than men in all countries (Raleigh 2019 ). Women’s higher life expectancies and greater involvement in caregiving at every life stage (Patterson and Margolis 2019 ) imply that the duration of caregiving life is longer for women than for men.…”
Section: Literature Reviewmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Families are the primary source of caregiving for their members, regardless of the generosity of national social services (Albertini et al 2007 ; Brandt and Deindl 2013 ; Brandt et al 2009 ; Schmid et al 2012 ). However, women do the majority of unpaid care work within families continuously over the life course by taking care of their children, spouses, parents, and other members of their kinship networks (Patterson and Margolis 2019 ). Moreover, there is evidence that taking an unpaid caregiving role is a barrier to women’s participation in paid work (Crespo and Mira 2010 ; Dentinger and Clarkberg 2002 ; Hochman and Lewin-Epstein 2013 ; Lumsdaine and Vermeer 2015 ; Rupert and Zanella 2018 ; Van Bavel and De Winter 2013 ; Wakabayashi and Donato 2005 ).…”
Amid growing concern regarding the potential added burden of care due to population aging, we have very little understanding of what is the burden of care in aging populations. To answer this question, we introduce a novel metric that encompasses demographic complexity and social context to summarize unpaid family care work provided to children, elderly, and other family members across the life cycle at a population level. The measure (Care Life Expectancy), an application of the Sullivan method, estimates the number of years and proportion of adult life that people spend in an unpaid caregiving role. We demonstrate the value of the metric by using it to describe gender differences in unpaid care work in 23 European aging countries. We find that at age 15, women and men are expected to be in an unpaid caregiving role for over half of their remaining life. For women in most of the countries, over half of those years will involve high-level caregiving for a family member. We also find that men lag in caregiving across most countries, even when using the lowest threshold of caregiving. As we show here, demographic techniques can be used to enhance our understanding of the gendered implications of population aging, particularly as they relate to policy research and public debate.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11113-021-09640-z.
During the COVID‐19 pandemic, many women lost their jobs or chose to leave the workforce because of increased caregiving demands. Of women who remained employed, many faced increased complexity in negotiating their roles as employees and caregivers. On the basis of existing theory and research on the impact of women's caregiving responsibilities on their careers, we developed a model of the relationships among women's caregiving hours for children and adults, work‐family and family‐work conflict, perceived social support, and career satisfaction during the pandemic. We collected data from 475 university staff members and tested our model using a path analysis. Results suggested that caregiving hours for children directly influenced work‐family and family‐work conflict and that social support partially mediated the relationship between family‐work conflict and career satisfaction. We discuss how counselors might best work with women who are navigating multiple life roles during a period of family, community, and global challenges.
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