Spousal Characteristics Research Articles

Concordance of Characteristics and Metabolic Syndrome in Couples: Insights from a National Survey.

Background and Objective: There is insufficient evidence on whether the concordance of sociodemographic, behavioral, and nutritional characteristics between spouses correlates with the concordance of metabolic syndrome (MetS) between spouses, or if a spouse's characteristics are directly linked to their own MetS. This study seeks to evaluate the association between the concordance of characteristics and the concordance of MetS in couples and investigate whether a spouse's attributes are linked to their partner's MetS. Methods: Analyzing data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2019-2021, 1824 couples with complete data, including MetS parameters, sociodemographic details, health behaviors, and dietary information, were included. General linear model and logistic regression were employed. Results: Among couples, 10.7% exhibited concordant MetS, with spousal concordance ranging from 1.3% to 81.5% for nonoptimal characteristics. Multivariate analysis revealed that the odds of both partners having MetS increased by 1.04-1.61 times with a higher mean age of the couple and higher concordance in lower education, poor subjective health, insufficient strength exercise, and excessive carbohydrate consumption. When accounting for both individual and spousal factors, the odds of MetS rose with the higher mean age of the couple, having a spouse with MetS, their own characteristics (lower education, poor subjective health, insufficient strength exercise, and sedentary behavior for husbands and wives; alcohol consumption and insufficient walking for husbands; and excessive carbohydrate intake for wives), and spousal factors such as smoking (in husbands) and lower education, lower economic status, and excessive carbohydrate intake (in wives). In wives, spousal sedentary behavior and poor subjective health were linked to decreased odds. Conclusions: The findings suggest a connection between MetS concordance and shared characteristics in couples, as well as an association between both spousal MetS status and characteristics and their own MetS.

Assortative mating, marital stability and the role of business cycles in the United States from 1968 to 2011

ABSTRACT The strong negative correlation between divorce and a wide range of outcomes in terms of well-being, health, education and labour market performance has been well documented in the literature. Economic conditions have been found to affect marital stability. Shared gains from marriage also depend on spouses’ characteristics such as age, education, ethnicity and religious beliefs. This paper examines the relationship between these spousal characteristics and the probability of dissolution while taking into account business cycle fluctuations. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics 1968–2011 for the United States and employing a duration modelling strategy, findings reveal that differences in educational attainment and ethnicity between spouses increase the hazard of marital dissolution. However similarity in religious beliefs and ethnicity reduce the risk of divorce. A period of economic growth improves marital stability. However, ethnic differences are a significant predictor of marital division, even in times of economic prosperity.

Predicting soldier retention from army spouse characteristics and attitudes: Soldiering on with spouse support

ABSTRACT The U.S. Army has a vested interest in retaining the skilled personnel necessary to achieve its mission and strategic goals. A wealth of research has investigated the retention process and what influences service member decisions to stay in the military. While families are an important influence on soldier retention decisions, research on the mechanism by which this happens is lacking. This report explores the relationship between spouse attitudes and perceptions, resource use, and soldier retention almost two years later, using a proposed theoretical model. Our results generally support our model, with the important change that resource use and unmet needs and stress were not directly associated with specific attitudes toward staying in the military as we had expected. Instead, the association was accounted for by relationship with general attitudes toward the military. Spouses whose needs were unmet after seeking help from available resources experienced greater stress, and spouse unmet needs and reports of greater stress were associated with worse general attitudes toward the military; worse general attitudes toward the military were associated with less inclination to stay a military family; which in turn predicted soldier turnover almost two years later. As the research in this report shows, providing benefits to military spouses is also associated with a tangible and important outcome for the military: improved service member retention.

Satisfaction with marriage, personality traits of the spouses and the choice of strategies for overcoming family conflicts.

The paper considers satisfaction with marriage as a basic characteristic that forms the stability of marital relations. An overview of approaches to the study of this phenomenon from the perspective of external and internal, social and personal, variable and stable factors is presented. The subject of the study is strategies for overcoming conflict and personality characteristics of spouses with varying satisfaction with marriage. The novelty of the study is associated with an attempt to consider the sphere of matrimony from the point of view of the behavioral, affective and motivational component, to give a pilot characterization of the overall picture of how personality accentuations and non-constructive ways of resolving conflict situations are expressed in a group of subjects with low satisfaction with marriage. To suggest possible directions for further work and deepening the study of factors affecting marital satisfaction. This approach is useful for forming the principles of accompanying married couples. The test - questionnaire of satisfaction with marriage, developed by V.V. Stolin, T.L. Romanova, G.P. Butenko. The methodology for diagnosing tactics of behavior in conflict by K. N. Thomas. In our country, the test was adapted by N.V. Grishina. Assessment of character accentuation according to the Shmishek method. The main conclusions of the study found differences in the severity of the types of accentuations, in the group of subjects with high satisfaction with marriage, the severity of accentuations is lower, it was also found that the degree of personality accentuation in affective indicators is higher in the group with low satisfaction with marriage. The differences are also related to the type of conflict resolution strategy, in the group with high satisfaction with marriage, cooperation and compromise are more often chosen, this group has a wide variety of conflict resolution strategies, in the group with a low level of satisfaction with marriage, non-constructive strategies are more often chosen - avoidance, rivalry, adaptation, which leads to an even greater decrease in marital satisfaction among the subjects. The novelty of the approach in this work is associated with an attempt to study behavioral and personal characteristics, identify opportunities for comprehensive research

CORRELATES OF RETIREMENT EXPECTATIONS AMONG BABY BOOMERS IN US AND SOUTH KOREA: APPLICATIONS OF TREE-BASED METHODS

Abstract 75 million US Baby Boomers are expected to retire by 2030. Retirement decisions are a result of a complex interplay of multiple psychosocial factors, including individual (demographics, health characteristics), family (marital status, spousal characteristics), work-related factors (job characteristics, workplace environment), and cultural contexts surrounding retirement. However, traditional regressions of retirement expectations limit the inclusion of a large set of factors and their interactions. This study employed decision trees and random forests to explore the salient psychosocial correlates of retirement expectations among Baby Boomers in two countries that differ in retirement norms and policies, US and South Korea. Sample included adults aged 52-65 from the 2016 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (n=1,192) and the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (n= 766). Expectation (probability) of working full-time for the next 5-10 years was modeled continuously (range: 0-100). Prediction models of expectations included 52 psychosocial factors relating to individual, family, and work characteristics. Mean expectations were higher in Koreans than US adults (71.4% vs. 36.7%). Age, self-reported probability of living to age 75, and work hours strongly predicted expectations in both US and Korean adults. While type of employment, Social Security or private pension benefits, and employment tenure were important predictors in US adults, flexible work arrangements were important in Koreans. Differences in features predicting retirement expectations between the US and Korean adults suggest opportunities for country-specific programs and policies aimed to promote workplace environment and pension benefits for successful retirement planning in the Baby Boom generation.

The influence of family function and structure on depression in middle aged women

Background: Depression is both a mood disorder and a chronic illness of public health importance that accounts for a great socioeconomic burden worldwide. The family influences the health beliefs and health related behavior and it is supposed to provide emotional, financial, physical and emotional support during this period. Aim of the study was to assess the influence of family function and structure on depression in middle-aged women. Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based study. Three hundred and two (302) middle-aged women were recruited by simple random sampling method. Relevant data were collected using pretested interviewer administered questionnaire that incorporated family structure, family APGAR and major depression inventory (MDI). Results: More than half (56%) of the participants had a functional family, 66.2% of them were in a monogamous marriage while 64.7% were from a nuclear family. The prevalence of depression was 5.3%; 31.3% of these were from functional family while 68.7% were from dysfunctional family. There was a significant association between family functionality, spousal characteristics such as wife beating and spousal alcohol use with depression. Conclusions: The prevalence of depression was low amongst married middle-aged women currently living with their spouses while no relationship was noted between family structure and depression. Family assessment especially family functionality is highly recommended in assessing depression.

The value of a green card in the U.S. marriage market: A tale of chain migration?

This study examines the impact of having a clear path to lawful permanent resident status, or a “green card,” on marital status and spousal characteristics among Chinese immigrants in the United States. A series of U.S. policy changes in the early 1990s made almost all mainland Chinese immigrants already present in the country eligible for a green card. We examine the effect of those policy changes on Chinese immigrants' marriage market outcomes relative to other East Asian immigrants. Using 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census data, we find that the share of Chinese immigrants who are married increased after they became automatically eligible for a green card. In particular, highly educated Chinese immigrants became relatively more likely to be married with a spouse living with them and relatively less likely to be married with a spouse living elsewhere. This pattern suggests that some Chinese spouses immigrated after their husband or wife received legal status, or spousal chain migration occurred. We also find that highly educated Chinese immigrants benefited in the marriage market in terms of spousal education and earnings, but less-educated Chinese immigrants did not. Meanwhile, less-educated Chinese-born women became relatively more likely to marry a U.S. native.

Effect of physical mobility, decision making and economic empowerment on gender-based violence among married youth in India-SAWERA project

BackgroundPreventing and responding to gender-based violence (GBV) is both a human rights imperative and a multifaceted economic issue. GBV can also act as a barrier to economic empowerment. The aim of the study was to examine the association between women’s empowerment (physical mobility, decision making and economic resources) and GBV among married youth in India.MethodsCommunity based cross-sectional study was conducted among married youth in the age group of 15–24 years, in two selected districts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, India. The data was collected from 578 youth. Pre-validated scales were used to assess women’s empowerment indicators (physical mobility, decision making and economic resources). The outcomes assessed were scales on physical and sexual violence. Multivariate regression models examined associations between women’s empowerment, spousal characteristics, socio-economic status and demographics.ResultsThe overall results of the study found that restricted physical mobility had a negative association with sexual violence [AOR: 0.49; CI 0.26–0.92]. Women with no decision-making power had higher odds of physical violence [AOR: 2.12; CI 0.01–4.43] and sexual violence [AOR: 1.96; CI 1.02–3.77]. Having no economic resources had a negative association with sexual violence [AOR: 0.19; CI 0.09–0.39]. Women going through spousal controlling behavior had a higher likelihood of physical [AOR: 3.79; CI 1.75–8.19] and sexual violence [AOR: 4.03; CI 2.09–7.79]. It was also found that married women from rural areas and other ethnic backgrounds had higher odds of physical violence.ConclusionThere is a crucial need to work towards women’s empowerment, with progressive gender roles such as greater decision-making, physical mobility and economic resources to reduce GBV. An established method that has worked in various contexts is adopting gender transformative approaches that involve men.

Contemporary Marriage in Cambodia.

Previous work has suggested that the drastic Khmer-Rouge-era changes to the family institution have not endured. Potentially more influential in the long term were the rapid socio-economic changes Cambodia underwent starting in the 1990s. We use four waves of the Cambodian Demographic and Health Surveys from 2000 to 2014 to document contemporary trends in marriage formation and dissolution. We find little change in the centrality of marriage, as both cohabitation and sex between unmarried partners remain quite rare. Marriage also continues to be nearly universal and early for women, but we find that the transition to self-arranged "love" marriages occurred earlier and faster than previously documented. A sign that parental endorsement may still matter though, marriage dissolution continues to be associated with spousal characteristics deemed undesirable by past generations. While higher among recent marriage cohorts, especially in the first year after marriage, levels of marriage dissolution remain comparatively low overall.

The impact of market integration on arranged marriages in Matlab, Bangladesh.

Success in marriage markets has lasting impacts on women's wellbeing. By arranging marriages, parents exert financial and social powers to influence spouse characteristics and ensure optimal marriages. While arranging marriages is a major focus of parental investment, marriage decisions are also a source of conflict between parents and daughters in which parents often have more power. The process of market integration may alter parental investment strategies, however, increasing children's bargaining power and reducing parents' influence over children's marriage decisions. We use data from a market integrating region of Bangladesh to (a) describe temporal changes in marriage types, (b) identify which women enter arranged marriages and (c) determine how market integration affects patterns of arranged marriage. Most women's marriages were arranged, with love marriages more recent. We found few predictors of who entered arranged vs. love marriages, and family-level market integration did not predict marriage type at the individual level. However, based on descriptive findings, and findings relating women's and fathers' education to groom characteristics, we argue that at the society-level market integration has opened a novel path in which daughters use their own status, gained via parental investments, to facilitate good marriages under conditions of reduced parental assistance or control.

BABALARA VERİLEN EMZİRME EĞİTİMİNİN, BABALARIN BİLGİ DÜZEYİNE, ANNELERİN EMZİRME ÖZYETERLİLİĞİNE VE EMZİRME TUTUMUNA ETKİSİ

Aim: It is a design in a design similar to the quality of the gift given to the fathers, the self-efficacy of the mothers and the design of the fathers.
 Materials and Methods: The research was carried out with women who gave birth in Yalova Women's Health and Diseases State Hospital between 2020 and April 2021 and with intervals. It was completed with a total of 320 people, 160 for the intervention group (80 couples) and 160 (80 couples) for the control group. Data Collection Form (DTF), Fathers' Breastfeeding Effect Scale (BEES), Breastfeeding Knowledge Test for Fathers, Breastfeeding Attitude Assessment Scale (ETDE), Postpartum Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form were applied. In development, sociodemographic characteristics of fathers and spouses, characteristics of children regarding their babies, positive aspects of paternal pregnancy and babies, and fathers' general knowledge scores are similar in our study and pre-evaluation scores post-test scores of the Breastfeeding Effect Scale Sub-Dimension applied to the fathers in the information applied to the fathers, and the Postpartum Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form Total post-test scores applied to the fathers' spouses were significantly higher than all the post-test scores applied to the control fathers and their parents. would be high. 
 Results: In our study, the sociodemographic characteristics of fathers and their spouses, the characteristics of the participants regarding their babies, the characteristics of fathers regarding breastfeeding and infant care, and the pretest scores of fathers' breastfeeding knowledge level were similar in the intervention and control groups. After the breastfeeding support initiative applied to the fathers, the Total Posttest Scores of the Breastfeeding Knowledge Test applied to the fathers in the experimental group, the posttest scores of the Sub-Dimension of the Fathers Effect on Breastfeeding Scale, the Postpartum Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form Total posttest scores applied to the fathers' spouses were given to the fathers and their spouses in the control group. It was found to be significantly higher than all post-test scores applied
 Conclusion: In our study, the training given for intervention and control groups was significant for fathers and parents.

Domestic Violence in Childhood and the Associated Risk of Spousal Violence in Adulthood: Cultural Influence on Women's Experience

Purpose: To examine the association between childhood violence and spousal violence within the culture of women visiting primary health care centers. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants were approached in waiting areas of health care centers. Data about five types of childhood violence and four types of spousal violence were investigated. Chi square was implemented to study the association between spousal violence and women's demographic characteristics. Further, logistic regression associated with 95% CI was implemented to study the risk of spousal violence based on women's exposure to childhood abuse. Results: It was found that women in general were subjects to domestic violence in childhood and during adulthood. Emotional and physical types of childhood violence were the most prevalent in our participants. Regarding spousal violence experience, two-thirds of the women reported control by the spouse. In addition, half of them reported being physically victimized using different violence tactics. Except for sexual abuse, all other types of childhood violence were, generally, significant risk factors for spousal violence victimization. Conclusion: Experiencing childhood violence, witnessing parental violence, tendency to compensate for the deprivation in childhood, and inherited beliefs about spousal violence were factors expected to explain the association between childhood violence and spousal violence in women. Traumatic events in childhood are under-recognized factors in the development of spousal violence in the current population. Therefore, efforts to prevent these forms of violence need to be emphasized by health professionals who are in direct contact with women in different health care facilities.

Who Opts Out? The Customisation of Marriage in the German Matrimonial Property Regime

This study examines the prevalence of marital contracts across marriage cohorts (1990–2019) in Germany. We further investigate the characteristics of spouses who signed a marital contract. Using cross-sectional data from the German Family Panel (pairfam, 2018/19), we employ complementary log–log and multinomial logistic regression models to predict the prevalence and the type of marital contracts. The results show that 5% of all married couples opt out of the default matrimonial property regime by signing a contract in Germany. Differentiating between contract types, most couples either specify a separation of property (40%) or modify the default community of accrued gains (31%). We find an increase in the prevalence of marital contracts across marriage cohorts. The decision to opt out of the default is strongly positively associated with self-employment that often requires the customisation of asset ownership structures within marriage. Married individuals with prior divorce experiences are more likely to opt for the separation of property, indicating that the awareness of the economic consequences of divorce promotes the individualisation of marriage. Our results are in line with the cross-national trend towards customised marriages, although the trend in Germany is less pronounced than in other countries.

"Till Death Do Us Part", Dying Matters, Beyond the Individual: Advance Care Planning Patterns Among Older Couples.

We examined the formal and informal advance care planning (ACP) patterns of older couples and determined how these patterns are associated with individual and spousal characteristics. Using data from the 2014 and 2016 Health and Retirement Study, we performed latent class analysis to identify ACP patterns and multinomial regression models to describe characteristics of older couples (N = 2195 couples). We identified four ACP patterns: high engaging couple (47%); high engaging husband-low engaging wife (11%); high engaging wife-low engaging husband (11%); and low engaging couple (31%). High engaging couples were more likely to be older, educated, and financially better off, whereas high ACP engagement in discordant ACP patterns was associated with health and wives' constraints. A couple-based approach was recommended to promote the merits of ACP where spouses were older, had limited resources, or where one or both partners were suffering from poor health.

Characteristics and Social Support Needs Predicting Anticipatory Grief in the Spouses of Patients with Cancer at the End of Life

Background: Medical staff provide care to spouses of terminal cancer patients through trial and error by meeting their various support needs and spousal factors regarding their anticipatory grief. Studies on the association between spousal characteristics and anticipatory grief have been inconclusive; additionally, there has been insufficient research on support needs for anticipatory grief of spouses. This study aimed to explore the spousal characteristics and social support needs predicting anticipatory grief in spouses of patients with cancer at the end of life. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Eligible spouses (n = 102) completed a self-report questionnaire in two hospitals with palliative care units in Japan. The questionnaire included demographic information, a tool assessing social support needs of spouses, and the Anticipatory Grief Scale for Family Caregivers. Results: Simple regression analyses indicated that patient age, chemotherapy, no treatment, ECOG PS3, children aged under 20 years, total score of “social support needs regarding the disease and treatment of the patients” and subscale scores (“medical condition and cure,” “daily life and social support,” and “intimacy and employment”), and total score of “social support needs of the spouses” and subscale scores (“family psychological issues and social support” and “intimacy, employment, and society”) were significant variables (all p p < 0.05). Conclusions: Patients having no experience of “chemotherapy” and higher “social support needs of the spouses” in Model 1, and greater spousal needs of “family psychological issues and social support” in Model 2 were significant predictors of severe anticipatory grief. Medical staff should pay attention to these risk factors that predict anticipatory grief among spouses.

Sociological analysis of a modern young family's problems

The article examines the problems that young families face today on the basis of the theoretical analysis and analysis of empirical data. The relevance of the scientific research is due, firstly, to demographic processes associated, among other things, with a high level of divorces, and secondly, the crisis of the traditional form of a family, the transformation of the system of spiritual and social values, the formation of attitudes towards egocentrism and consumerism. The purpose of the research to identify and characterize the problems of a modern young family. The object of the research is a young family, the subject is the problems of a modern young family. During the study, the method of questionnaire [n=120] and expert survey has been used. Experts from the Orlovsky Crisis Center in the city of Orel (10 people) acted as experts. The study has showed that some of the problems faced by a modern young family are objective, others are objective-subjective. The authors have identified four groups of problems of a young family: the first group consists of problems conditioned by financial situation of a family, the second - problems of a communicative nature, the third - socio-psychological problems and the fourth - problems associated with the personal characteristics of young spouses. The authors note that spiritual and moral education, which includes the formation of family values, is a basic condition for preserving not only a young family, but also the family as a social institution.

On the magnitude, frequency, and nature of marriage dissolution in Italy: insights from vital statistics and life-table analysis

Legal separation is a crucial step in the dissolving of marriages in Italy. Marriage and legal separation data come from administrative data sources and have been part of the civil registration and vital statistics system for a long time. These data make it possible to constantly monitor evolution of marital unions formation and dissolution over time and space. This study highlights the potential of combining administrative data at a macro level, aggregated by selected characteristics of the marriage and of the spouses. Data collection on legal separations is a complex process that brings together records from different administrative sources that have different transmission procedures. The system has rapidly evolved in recent years because of important normative changes. Pooling the two exhaustive data sources on marriages and separations we calculate duration-specific separation rates by selected spouses’ and wedding characteristics and estimate survival curves for 1975 marriage cohorts onward. Although the propensity to separate is increasing across marriage cohorts, the most recent first-marriage cohorts—those celebrated since the beginning of the new millennium—show a decreasing tendency to separate after short marriage durations. The most fragile unions are those celebrated in a civil ceremony in the north of Italy and that choose the separation of property regime. Couples in which the bride is more educated than the groom show a higher risk of separating. Differences by geographical area and celebration rite tend to reduce over time. This study contributes to existing information about the propensity to separate in Italy and the role that some characteristics of weddings and spouses play. It shows the potential for integrating information from marriage and separation registers when dealing with a relatively rare phenomenon at the population level and with information not usually collected in social surveys.

Loneliness in older parents: marital transitions, family and social connections, and separate bedrooms for sleep

ObjectivesThis research innovatively analyzed the marital transitions (i.e., divorce and widowhood) of older Taiwanese parents, their sleep problems and spousal specific characteristics (i.e., separate bedrooms for sleep and marital relationships) as well as their social and family connections, all of which were simultaneously reflected in emotional and social domains of loneliness.MethodsData are from 1645 older parents from Northern Taiwan. Loneliness was assessed by a De Jong-Gierveld short scale with emotional and social domains. We conducted multivariate logistic regression to examine the associations of marital transitions and family/social connections regarding sleep problems and psychological well-being with loneliness in social and emotional domains. Besides sleep problems and individual socioeconomic status, we included data on couples’ sleeping arrangements and marital relationships.ResultsSocial loneliness was significantly associated with being divorced (AOR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.13–2.86) and living alone (AOR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.02–2.23). In contrast, strong family cohesion and frequent weekly contact with friends were associated with lower social loneliness. Married parents who slept in separate bedrooms were more likely than bed-sharing couples to feel emotional and social loneliness, despite adjusting for their sleep problems. Furthermore, satisfactory spousal relationships significantly decreased the magnitude of associations in the social domain.DiscussionOur findings support significant associations between loneliness in later life and major marital transitions, family and social connections and sleep problems which differ in social and emotional domains. Independent of relationship satisfaction, separate bedrooms relate to higher risks of emotional loneliness in older adults.

Depression in Ugandan Rural Women Involved in a Money Saving Group: The Role of Spouse's Unemployment, Extramarital Relationship, and Substance Use.

BackgroundRural women are highly prevalent to depression, where spouse-related factors, including extramarital affairs and poverty, intensify its likelihood of occurrence. However, women engaged with a Money-Saving Group (MSG) are financially self-dependent, which can reduce the risk of depression suffering. Despite this, there is less study among this cohort, which led us to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of depression among the Ugandan women involved in MSG.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study in Uganda among rural married or cohabiting women aged 18 to 45 years engaged in MSG. The survey was carried out within a total of 153 participants (33.3 ± 6.7 years) in April 2021. Information related to socio-demographic of the participants, their spouse characteristics, and depression were collected.ResultsAbout 65.4% of the participants had depressive symptoms (based on the cutoff 10/27 at the PHQ-9). But, 8.15 times (CI: 2.83–23.44, p<0.001) and 16.69 times (CI: 4.85–57.39, p<0.001), higher risk of depression were observed, if the participants’ spouses were using an addictive substance and had been involved in an extramarital relationship, respectively. Similarly, there was an increased likelihood of depression when the participant or spouse was unemployed.ConclusionThis study observed a higher prevalence of depression, which suggests paying attention to this cohort. Thus, there should be routine screening for depression among married women involved in MSG at lower-level health facilities in rural settings, especially those with spouses engaged in substance use, having an extramarital relationship, and being unemployed.

Profile and needs of primary informal caregivers of older patients in Belgian geriatric day hospitals: a multicentric cross-sectional study

BackgroundWith the improvement of life expectancy, the world faces increasing demands for care of older persons. In this manuscript, we define the characteristics of primary informal caregivers (PIC) of patients aged 75 years and older admitted to geriatric day hospitals (GDH) in Belgium. A PIC is defined as the person who most often provides care and assistance to persons who need to be cared for. We describe PIC socio-demographic characteristics, satisfaction, burden and wishes about caring; the type of assistance provided and received, their self-rated health, socio-demographic and medical characteristics of proxies, in particular the presence of behavioural disorders.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study in 25 GDH.ParticipantsFour hundred seventy-five PIC of patients ≥75 years and their proxies. PIC completed a questionnaire at the GDH assessing burden by Zarit Burden Index-12 (ZBI-12), self-rated health, social restriction due to caregiving and financial participation. We compared the characteristics of PIC with high and low burden, and the characteristics of spouses and adult children PIC. We also analyzed factors associated with a high burden in a multivariable logistic regression model.ResultsPIC were mainly women (72%), adult children (53.8%) and spouses (30.6%). The mean age was 64 ± 14 years for PIC and 84 ± 5 years for care recipients. PIC helped for most of Activities in Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental ADL (iADL). The median ZBI-12 score was 10 [IQR 5–18]. In multivariable regression analysis, a high burden was positively associated in the total group with living with the relative (p = 0.045), the difficulty to take leisure time or vacation (p < 0.001), behavioral and mood disorders (p < 0.001;p = 0.005), and was negatively associated with bathing the relative (p = 0.017) and a better subjective health status estimation (p < 0.001).ConclusionPrimary informal caregivers, who were predominantly women, were involved in care for ADL and iADL. A high burden was associated with living with the relative, the difficulty to take leisure time or vacation and the relative’s behavioral and mood disorders. Bathing the relative and a subjective health status estimated as good as or better than people the same age, were protective factors against a high burden.