The Effect of Informal Caregiving on Depression: An Asymmetric Panel Fixed-Effects Analysis of In-Home and Out-Of-Home Caregivers Across Europe

Abstract

ABSTRACT Previous research has shown that providing intensive informal care can have a negative effect on an individual’s mental health. However, few studies have been able to draw a precise comparison between the experiences of in-home and out-of-home caregivers. This study used data from 16 countries collected from 2011–2019 as part of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to conduct asymmetric panel fixed-effects models that examined within-person variation in depression scores after a respondent started providing daily or almost daily personal care either inside or outside of their home. The results substantiated previous findings that in-home caregivers experience more pronounced increases to their reported depressive symptoms after starting to provide daily personal care than do out-of-home caregivers. In addition, in-home caregivers in countries with greater governmental responsibility for long-term care provision (The Northern and Central Clusters) reported fewer increases to their depressive symptoms after starting to provide care than caregivers in countries where long-term care responsibility predominantly rests on families (The Southern and Eastern Cluster). Further, Northern Cluster countries most successfully shrank the pool of out-of-home care providers. Together, these findings underscore the context-specific nature of caregiver wellbeing.