Types of Family Caregiving and Daily Experiences in Midlife and Late Adulthood: The Moderating Influences of Marital Status and Age

Abstract

Guided by the life-course perspective, this study contributes to the family caregiving, aging, and disability literature by examining the daily experiences of three types of family caregivers in midlife and late adulthood. A sample of 162 caregivers from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States study completed interviews, questionnaires, and a Daily Diary Study. Multilevel models showed the patterns of daily time use did not differ by caregiver types. Caregivers of sons/daughters with developmental disabilities (DD) experienced more daily stressors than caregivers of parents with health conditions (HC) and caregivers of spouses with HC. Unmarried caregivers of sons/daughters with DD reported spending more time on daily leisure activities and exhibited greater daily stressor exposure than other family caregivers. Age did not moderate the associations between caregiver types and daily experiences. Findings highlight the important consideration of the caregivers' characteristics to better determine the quality of their daily experiences in midlife and late adulthood.

Characteristics and quality of life of substance users and their caregivers

“…[26] Parents are the most common caregivers of patients with developmental disabilities. [27] The high representation of parents among caregivers in this study had an impact on the distribution of some of their characteristics—caregivers were more likely to be older, officially married, or common-law partnered. A similar study conducted by Marcon et al [15] also found that caregivers are, on average, older and more likely to be living with a partner.…”

Transitions to Family Caregiving and Latent Variables of Systemic Inflammation Over Time

“…For example, Kim and Yoon (2020) found that sleep quality can be an important compensatory pathway that protects against inflammation, and sleep quality can also be impacted by caregiving stress (Gao et al, 2019). Social factors such as marital quality (Wong & Shobo, 2017) and other roles that might either elicit stress or provide resources, such as parenting and employment (Barnett, 2015) are also potentially involved in affecting the health trajectories of caregiving. Future studies including such contextual factors alongside our latent variable approaches for assessing inflammation should be further illuminating.…”

A day in the life of caregivers to older adults with and without dementia: Comparisons of care time and emotional health

“…14 Other studies have documented differences in caregivers' daily emotional health and stressors by care-recipient characteristics and engagement level. [15][16][17][18] Yet, emotional health has not been compared systematically for caregivers who are assisting older adults with dementia and those assisting for other reasons. Moreover, investigations into the emotional implications of different types of care time, and how they may differ when the care recipient is living with dementia, are lacking.…”

“…found relative to non‐caregivers, worse emotional health among caregivers to older adults 14 . Other studies have documented differences in caregivers’ daily emotional health and stressors by care‐recipient characteristics and engagement level 15–18 . Yet, emotional health has not been compared systematically for caregivers who are assisting older adults with dementia and those assisting for other reasons.…”