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Health effects of caring for and about parents and spouses

Author

Listed:
  • Judith Bom

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Pieter Bakx

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Erik Schut

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Eddy (E.K.A.) van Doorslaer

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Abstract

Informal caregiving is a potentially attractive alternative to formal care but may entail health costs for the caregiver. We examine the mental and physical health impact of providing informal care and disentangle the caregiving effect – the effect of caring for someone in need – from the family effect – the effect of caring about someone in need. We account for potential endogeneity in the caregiving decision and control for previous health status using Arellano-Bond difference GMM models. We use four waves (2010-2013) of panel data from the Dutch Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation (STREAM). We find that caregiving harms the mental health of caregivers; this effect is mainly present for spousal caregivers. A negative health shock of a family member also has a direct negative effect on mental health, providing evidence of a family effect. These findings imply that most studies may have overestimated the negative health effects of caregiving by not accounting adequately for the family effect. As the caregiving effect differs strongly between various types of caregivers, policies to counteract this effect should specifically target subgroups of caregivers that carry the largest burden of informal caregiving.

Suggested Citation

  • Judith Bom & Pieter Bakx & Erik Schut & Eddy (E.K.A.) van Doorslaer, 2018. "Health effects of caring for and about parents and spouses," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 18-050/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20180050
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    Cited by:

    1. Courtney Coile & Maya Rossin-Slater & Amanda Su, 2022. "The Impact of Paid Family Leave on Families with Health Shocks," NBER Working Papers 30739, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Julien Bergeot & Roméo Fontaine, 2020. "The heterogeneous effect of retirement on informal care behavior," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(10), pages 1101-1116, October.
    3. Felix Glaser & Gerald J. Pruckner, 2023. "A hard pill to swallow? Parental health shocks and children's mental health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(12), pages 2768-2800, December.
    4. Bom, Judith & Stöckel, Jannis, 2021. "Is the grass greener on the other side? The health impact of providing informal care in the UK and the Netherlands," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    5. Oliver Fisher, 2021. "The Impact of Micro and Macro Level Factors on the Working and Living Conditions of Migrant Care Workers in Italy and Israel—A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-33, January.
    6. Fátima Barbosa & Sara Simões Dias & Gina Voss & Alice Delerue Matos, 2023. "The Longitudinal Association between Co-Residential Care Provision and Healthcare Use among the Portuguese Population Aged 50 and Over: A SHARE Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-14, February.
    7. Teo, Hansel, 2023. "The impact of a partner's nursing home admission on individuals' mental well-being," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    8. Rellstab, Sara & Bakx, Pieter & García-Gómez, Pilar & van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2020. "The kids are alright - labour market effects of unexpected parental hospitalisations in the Netherlands," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    9. Ludovico Carrino & Vahé Nafilyan & Mauricio Avendano, 2023. "Should I Care or Should I Work? The Impact of Work on Informal Care," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(2), pages 424-455, March.
    10. Val Morrison & Mikołaj Zarzycki & Noa Vilchinsky & Robbert Sanderman & Giovanni Lamura & Oliver Fisher & Giulia Ferraris & Saif Elayan & Erik Buskens & Eva Bei & Anne Looijmans & Viola Angelini & Mari, 2022. "A Multinational Longitudinal Study Incorporating Intensive Methods to Examine Caregiver Experiences in the Context of Chronic Health Conditions: Protocol of the ENTWINE-iCohort," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-17, January.
    11. Oliver Fisher & Paolo Fabbietti & Giovanni Lamura, 2021. "Socio-Economic Predictors of Hiring Live-In Migrant Care Workers to Support Community Dwelling Older Adults with Long-Term Care Needs: Recent Evidence from a Central Italian Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-18, May.
    12. Christophe Courbage & Guillem Montoliu-Montes & Joël Wagner, 2023. "On children’s motives to influence parents’ long-term care insurance purchase: evidence from Switzerland," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 48(1), pages 102-129, January.
    13. Portier, Camille, 2023. "Heterogeneity in the mental health cost of caring for others," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    14. Annarita Macchioni Giaquinto & Andrew M. Jones & Nigel Rice & Francesca Zantomio, 2022. "Labor supply and informal care responses to health shocks within couples: Evidence from the UK," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(12), pages 2700-2720, December.
    15. Carrino, L.; & Nafilyan, V.; & Avendaño Pabon, M.;, 2019. "Should I Care or Should I Work? The Impact of Working in Older Age on Caregiving," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 19/23, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    16. Stöckel, Jannis & Bom, Judith, 2022. "Revisiting longer-term health effects of informal caregiving: Evidence from the UK," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    17. Coe, Norma B. & Goda, Gopi Shah & Van Houtven, Courtney Harold, 2023. "Family spillovers and long-term care insurance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    18. Marie Blaise & Laetitia Dillenseger, 2023. "Informal Caregivers and Life Satisfaction: Empirical Evidence from the Netherlands," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 1883-1930, August.
    19. Le, Duc Dung & Ibuka, Yoko, 2023. "Understanding the effects of informal caregiving on health and well-being: Heterogeneity and mechanisms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    20. Katja Möhring & Sabine Zinn & Ulrike Ehrlich, 2023. "Family care during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Germany: longitudinal evidence on consequences for the well-being of caregivers," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-11, December.
    21. Longobardo, Luz María Peña & Rodríguez-Sánchez, Beatriz & Oliva, Juan, 2023. "Does becoming an informal caregiver make your health worse? A longitudinal analysis across Europe," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    long-term care; informal care; caregiver effect; family effect; mental health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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