Abstract
ObjectivesWe assess gender moderation in the association between partner care arrangements and individuals’ well-being, and the extent to which gender differences vary across European care contexts.MethodsWe use 2015 data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for 3,465 couples aged 50+, where at least 1 partner receives care. We assess gender differences in individuals’ life satisfaction and depressive symptoms across 5 partner care arrangements: solo-; shared formal; shared informal; outsourced formal; and outsourced informal care. We explore heterogeneity in the gendered associations across 4 care contexts: Northern, Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe.ResultsSharing care with formal providers is associated with lower well-being among women than men, with a significant well-being “penalty” among Southern European women with partners in shared formal care. Outsourcing partner care to informal providers is associated with higher well-being than other care arrangements for men across care contexts, but with lower well-being for women in Southern Europe.DiscussionPolicies to support caregivers’ well-being need to be sensitive to the coordination of formal and informal caregiving support for men and women in their respective care contexts.
Highlights
Conceptualizing Gender Differences in WellBeing by Partner Care ArrangementDifferences in individuals’ well-being across partner care arrangements may reflect multiple concurrent factors, including care-induced stress, concordance in physical and emotional health between partners, and individual- and couple-level characteristics such as socioeconomic status and relationship quality
We assess gender moderation in the association between partner care arrangements and individuals’ well-being, and the extent to which gender differences vary across European care contexts
Outsourcing partner care to informal providers is associated with higher well-being than other care arrangements for men across care contexts, but with lower well-being for women in Southern Europe
Summary
Conceptualizing Gender Differences in WellBeing by Partner Care ArrangementDifferences in individuals’ well-being across partner care arrangements may reflect multiple concurrent factors, including care-induced stress, concordance in physical and emotional health between partners, and individual- and couple-level characteristics such as socioeconomic status and relationship quality. We posit that gender moderates the association between partner care arrangements and individuals’ well-being by acting upon normative expectations of primary caregiving roles within couples. Compared to their male partners, midlife and older women are more strongly socialized into caregiver—as opposed to “breadwinner”—roles, aligned with their lower life-course employment and earnings (Hank & Jürges, 2007). Stressors arise from the care recipients’ illness, such as low cognitive functioning or behavioral problems Such stressors are negatively associated with well-being among potential caregivers, both directly through increased intensity of care provision, and indirectly through intrapsychic strains related to the challenges of managing caregiving and other social responsibilities (Swinkels et al, 2019; Verbakel et al, 2018)
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