TY - JOUR
T1 - Is caring for older parents detrimental to women's mental health? The role of the European North-South gradient
AU - BRENNA, ELENKA
AU - Di, Novi C
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - In the last decades, both the lengthening of life expectancy and an
accentuated decline in birth rates have reduced the consistency of the younger
generational cohorts. Due to an ageing population, the burden of caregiving is
expected to intensify in the next quarter of the century in Europe, especially for
mature women. This paper investigates the impact of the provision of constant care
for older parents on the mental health of adult daughters, between the ages of 50 and
75, living in different European countries. Data is drawn from the Survey of Health,
Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Information on mental health status is provided
by Euro-D depression scale, a measure of depression standardized across European
countries. We focus on differences in the effects according to the North–South
gradient: we test whether the relationship between informal caregiving and mental
health differs across European macro-regions. Our results, robust under different
specifications of the propensity score model, reveal a clear North–South gradient:
the provision of informal care has a negative and significant impact on daughters’
mental health in the Mediterranean countries only, where the amount of resources
allocated to the Long Term Care is minimal and the local system of health and
social services for the elderly lacks the necessary structures to meet the increasing
demand for eldercare.
AB - In the last decades, both the lengthening of life expectancy and an
accentuated decline in birth rates have reduced the consistency of the younger
generational cohorts. Due to an ageing population, the burden of caregiving is
expected to intensify in the next quarter of the century in Europe, especially for
mature women. This paper investigates the impact of the provision of constant care
for older parents on the mental health of adult daughters, between the ages of 50 and
75, living in different European countries. Data is drawn from the Survey of Health,
Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Information on mental health status is provided
by Euro-D depression scale, a measure of depression standardized across European
countries. We focus on differences in the effects according to the North–South
gradient: we test whether the relationship between informal caregiving and mental
health differs across European macro-regions. Our results, robust under different
specifications of the propensity score model, reveal a clear North–South gradient:
the provision of informal care has a negative and significant impact on daughters’
mental health in the Mediterranean countries only, where the amount of resources
allocated to the Long Term Care is minimal and the local system of health and
social services for the elderly lacks the necessary structures to meet the increasing
demand for eldercare.
KW - Caregiver burden Depression Parent care LTC systems Mature women
KW - Caregiver burden Depression Parent care LTC systems Mature women
UR - https://iris.uniupo.it/handle/11579/175102
U2 - 10.1007/s11150-015-9296-7
DO - 10.1007/s11150-015-9296-7
M3 - Article
SN - 1569-5239
VL - dec 2016
SP - 745
EP - 778
JO - Review of Economics of the Household
JF - Review of Economics of the Household
IS - 14
ER -