Abstract
Background and Objectives:
The general view is that partner-caregiver burden increases over time but findings are incon-sistent. Moreover, the pathways underlying caregiver burden may differ between men and women. This study examines to what degree and why partner-caregiver burden changes over time. It adopts Pearlin’s Caregiver Stress Process Model, as it is expected that higher primary and secondary stressors will increase burden and larger amounts of resources will lower
burden. Yet, the impact of stressors and resources may change over time. The wear-and-tear model predicts an increase of burden due to a stronger impact of stressors and lower impact of resources over time. Alternatively, the adaptation model predicts a decrease of burden due to a lower impact of stressors and higher impact of resources over time.Research Design and Methods:
We used 2 observations with a 1-year interval of 279 male and 443 female partner-caregiv-ers, derived from the Netherlands Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum Data Set. We applied multilevel regression analysis, stratified by gender.
Results:
Adjusted for all predictors, caregiver burden increased over time for both men and women. For female caregiv-ers, the impact of poor spousal health on burden increased and the impact of fulfillment decreased over time. Among male caregivers, the impact of predictors did not change over time.
Discussion and Implications:
The increase of burden over time supports the wear-and-tear model, in particular for women. This study highlights the need for gender-specific interventions that are focused on enabling older partners to be better
prepared for long-term partner-care.
The general view is that partner-caregiver burden increases over time but findings are incon-sistent. Moreover, the pathways underlying caregiver burden may differ between men and women. This study examines to what degree and why partner-caregiver burden changes over time. It adopts Pearlin’s Caregiver Stress Process Model, as it is expected that higher primary and secondary stressors will increase burden and larger amounts of resources will lower
burden. Yet, the impact of stressors and resources may change over time. The wear-and-tear model predicts an increase of burden due to a stronger impact of stressors and lower impact of resources over time. Alternatively, the adaptation model predicts a decrease of burden due to a lower impact of stressors and higher impact of resources over time.Research Design and Methods:
We used 2 observations with a 1-year interval of 279 male and 443 female partner-caregiv-ers, derived from the Netherlands Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum Data Set. We applied multilevel regression analysis, stratified by gender.
Results:
Adjusted for all predictors, caregiver burden increased over time for both men and women. For female caregiv-ers, the impact of poor spousal health on burden increased and the impact of fulfillment decreased over time. Among male caregivers, the impact of predictors did not change over time.
Discussion and Implications:
The increase of burden over time supports the wear-and-tear model, in particular for women. This study highlights the need for gender-specific interventions that are focused on enabling older partners to be better
prepared for long-term partner-care.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1103-1111 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | The Gerontologist |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 12 Oct 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2019 |
Funding
The work was supported by the National Care for the Elderly Program on behalf of the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, Grant reference 633400010). This study makes use of data generated by the Older Persons and Caregivers Survey Minimum Dataset.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| ZonMw | 633400010 |
Keywords
- Caregiver stress
- Gender differences
- Healthcare policy
- Informal caregiving
- Spousal care
