Figure - available from: Journal of Happiness Studies
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Dummy impact function for the effects of caregiving on satisfaction with different domains (see Table 7 in the Appendix). Note: The solid black line represents point estimates; the black dashed lines indicate the 95% confidence intervals for panel-robust standard errors. The horizontal red dashed is the reference line at zero. If the confidence interval does not cross the red line, then the coefficient is significantly different from zero (p < 0.05)
Source publication
Previous research on informal spousal caregiving has documented a reduced life satisfaction among caregivers, but it has rarely considered the dynamics over time, the mechanisms that drive these effects, and different types of transitions out of caregiving. This study aims to fill this gap by focusing on spousal caregivers’ life satisfaction before...
Similar publications
Background
Middle-aged and older adults play an important role in the provision of informal support, however, the impact on the health of those individuals who provide informal care is unclear. The main objectives of this study are: (1) to assess the prevalence of co-residential caregiving provided by individuals aged 50+; (2) to analyze differenc...
Citations
... Both studies observe some deterioration in life satisfaction before the partner's death, except when the death was unanticipated. A reduction in well-being already before the partner's death is considered an implication of anxiety and stress related to the worsening health of the partner and to the burden of caring responsibilities (Gerlich & Wolbring, 2021;Schulz et al., 2001), mentioned already above in the context of mental health (Siflinger, 2017). ...
Unlabelled:
Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, 2004-17) and time diaries from Poland (2013), the U.S. (2006-16), the U.K. (2014-15) and France (2009-10), we examine differences between widowed and partnered older women in well-being and its development in widowhood. Most importantly, our analysis accounts for time use, an aspect which has not been studied previously. We trace the evolution of well-being of women who become widowed by comparing them with their matched non-widowed 'statistical twins' and examine the role of an exceptionally broad set of potential moderators of widowhood's impact on well-being. We confirm a dramatic decrease in mental health and life satisfaction after the loss of partner, followed by a slow partial recovery over a 5-year period. An extensive set of controls recorded prior to widowhood, including detailed family ties and social networks, provides little help in explaining the deterioration in well-being. Unique data from time-diaries kept by older women in several European countries and the U.S. tell us why: the key factor behind widows' reduced well-being is increased time spent alone.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10902-023-00622-w.
... The 11-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 10 is widely used in subject well-being studies. For example, the question "how satisfied are you with your life" is one of the most widely used one-item subjective well-being measurements (Deter, 2021;Gerlich & Wolbring, 2021;Sohier, Van Ootegem, & Verhofstadt, 2021;Wu, 2020), and most researchers using this question follow the 11-point design. ...
In this paper, we verified an inconsistency of understanding in the 0 to 10 Likert Scales with a survey experiment. We recruited 121 college students at a public university in California and had them answer a hypothetical subjective well-being survey. The survey contains 23 happy or unhappy events, and the students are told to report how happy/unhappy they would feel if the event happened to them on 11-point Likert Scales. We found an inconsistent understanding in the responses when the expected value is around 7 to 8 on a 0 to 10 Likert scale. Our finding suggests that a scale of another length or a -5 to 5 scale can be used as an alternative to improve the data quality.
... The 11-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 10 is widely used in subject well-being studies. For example, the question "how satis ed are you with your life" is one of the most widely used one-item subjective well-being measurements (Deter, 2021;Gerlich & Wolbring, 2021;Sohier, Van Ootegem, & Verhofstadt, 2021;Wu, 2020), and most researchers using this question follow the 11-point design. ...
In this paper, we verified an inconsistency of understanding in the 0 to 10 Likert Scales with a survey experiment. We recruited 121 college students at a public university in California and had them answer a hypothetical subjective well-being survey. The survey contains 23 happy or unhappy events, and the students are told to report how happy/unhappy they would feel if the event happened to them on 11-point Likert Scales. We found an inconsistent understanding in the responses when the expected value is around 7 to 8 on a 0 to 10 Likert scale. Our finding suggests that a scale of another length or a -5 to 5 scale can be used as an alternative to improve the data quality.
... However, as previous research suggests, the dynamics of family care (non-)provision should be taken into account more precisely as the relationship between family care and wellbeing can be different for those taking up, continuing or ceasing to provide family care (e.g. Hirst, 2005;Rafnsson et al., 2017;Sacco et al., 2022;Gerlich and Wolbring, 2021). Accordingly, for the purpose of this study, sample respondents responding with 'Yes' to the family care survey question in both years of a sample's observation were identified as 'continuous care-givers' (6.7% of the sample); those responding with 'No' in 2017 but with 'Yes' in 2020 were identified as 'new care-givers' (9.7% of the sample); those responding with 'Yes' in 2017 and with 'No' in 2020 were identified as 'past care-givers' (10.9% of the sample) and those responding with 'No' in both survey years were identified as non-care-givers (72.7% of the sample). ...
... However, we did find a decrease in life satisfaction for new care-givers who provided care in 2020 but not in 2017. This finding may be connected to a caregivers' recent transition into family care, as prior research has shown that particularly new care-givers experience declines in life satisfaction and quality of life (Sacco et al., 2022;Gerlich and Wolbring, 2021). ...
Previous research was not able to identify an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on family care-givers' wellbeing due to cross-sectional data structures, care-giver-specific samples or non-probability sampling designs. In this article, by drawing on longitudinal data from a random and representative sample of the German population aged 40 and older, we overcome methodological limitations of previous research. We examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing (life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, loneliness) of different groups of family care-givers (new care-givers, continuous care-givers, past care-givers) and non-care-givers in Germany. We derived a balanced sample of n = 3,875 individuals aged 43–97 (mean = 66.5 years, standard deviation = 10.2 years) from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) to explore changes in wellbeing between 2017 (pre-pandemic) and June/July 2020 (pandemic). Using a first-difference approach, we found that the pandemic has a negative impact on both non-care-givers' and family care-givers' wellbeing, with increased levels of depressive symptoms and loneliness compared to pre-pandemic times. Changes in depressive symptoms of family care-givers did not significantly deviate from non-care-givers. However, continuous care-givers showed more pronounced increases in loneliness compared to non-care-givers. Our results suggest that family care-givers' wellbeing merits particular attention when considering the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals' wellbeing.
Introduction:
Subjective life expectancy is a good predictor of health and could therefore be a relevant factor in the informal caregiving context. However, no research has been conducted on the perception of life expectancy by informal caregivers. This is the first study that examines the association between transitioning into, and out of, informal caregiving, and subjective life expectancy, and the relevance of employment status and gender for these associations.
Methods:
A longitudinal study was conducted with data from the German Ageing Survey (waves 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017). Up to 20,774 observations pooled over all waves were included in the main models. In total, 1,219 transitions into and 1,198 transitions out of informal caregiving were observed. Fixed effects (FE) regression analysis was used. Moderator and stratified analyses were conducted with gender and employment status used as moderator variables and to stratify the sample. Sociodemographic information, health, and lifestyle factors were controlled for.
Results:
Results of adjusted FE regression analyses indicated a significant reduction of subjective life expectancy when transitioning into informal caregiving. No significant change was found when transitioning out of informal caregiving. Subjective life expectancy was significantly decreased when employed individuals transitioned into informal caregiving and significantly increased when they transitioned out of caregiving. Findings for women transitioning into informal caregiving indicated a significant decrease in subjective life expectancy, while no significant change was found among men.
Conclusion:
The study's findings indicate that informal caregivers, female and employed caregivers in particular, perceive informal care provision as dangerous for their longevity and expect to die earlier when transitioning into informal caregiving. Thus, supportive interventions for informal caregivers, particularly employed and female informal caregivers, are recommended.
Background
Various cross-sectional studies exist examining the association between informal caregiving and sleep quality. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies investigating whether beginning and ceasing of informal caregiving is associated with changes in sleep quality.
Aims
Investigating whether beginning and ceasing of informal caregiving of individuals in poor health is associated with changes in sleep quality in both sexes.
Methods
Data were taken from a nationally representative sample of individuals ≥ 40 years in Germany from 2008 to 2017. In our analytical sample, n equaled 22,910 observations. Based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the sleep quality was assessed by the difficulties falling asleep during the last month, difficulties with sleep because of waking up during the last month (in both cases: (from 1 = not during the last month to 4 = three or more times a week) and the overall assessment of sleep quality during the last month (from 1 = very good to 4 = very bad).
Results
Asymmetric fixed effects regressions showed that in men beginning to provide informal care was associated with decreased overall sleep quality (β=-.09 (95% CI: −.15 – −.03), p<.01) and an increased likelihood of difficulties because of waking up (OR: 1.54 (95% CI: 1.07–2.20), p<.05), whereas ceasing to provide informal care was not associated with the outcome measures (both, in women and in men).
Discussion
Starting informal caregiving had deleterious effects on sleep quality in men.
Conclusions
Efforts to assist men in maintaining sleep quality may be beneficial.
