Ageing, Care Need and Quality of Life / Demografischer Wandel - Hintergründe und Herausforderungen (PDF)

Part III: Care Givers (S. 203-205)

Perceived Care Giver Burden of Spouses and Children in Flanders: Who’s Feeling more Burdened and Why?

Benedicte De Koker

1. Introduction

The ageing of the population, in combination with other societal evolutions such as the increasing labour market participation of women and the shift towards care ‘in the community’, has led to a growing awareness of the care provided by spouses, relatives, neighbours and friends. It is now widely recognised that informal care constitutes the majority of all care given to elderly people, and that preservation of the informal care capacity is of paramount importance. In accordance with this perspective, scientists as well as policy makers have shown an increasing concern about the well-being of informal carers (Döhner/Kofahl 2005, Kröger 2001, Walker et al. 1995).

Since the 1980’s a bulk of studies have been carried out on the outcomes of informal care giving (Walker et al. 1995). From this research it emerged that giving care to a loved person who is ill or disabled may generate a considerable amount of strain and burden (Braithwaite 1992, Walker et al. 1995). Compared to persons not involved in care giving or population norms, informal carers are reporting more depressive symptoms and higher levels of distress and anxiety (Hirst 2003, Marks et al. 2002, Schulz et al. 1995). While results with regard to physical well-being are less univocal (Hirst 2004, Taylor et al. 1995), a number of studies have found that informal carers tend to have a lower immunity, more physical health complaints and even a higher mortality risk (Schulz/Beach 1999, Vitaliano et al. 2003).

Moreover, evidence exists that care giving is associated with other negative outcomes, like a higher risk of social isolation (Fast et al. 1999, George/Gwyther 1986) and a less favourable financial situation (Fast et al. 1999, Heitmueller/Inglis 2007). The concept of

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Doblhammer is Professor for Empirical Social Science and Demography at the University of Rostock and Director of the Rostock Center for the Study of Demographic Change.

Dr. Rembrandt Scholz is Research Scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock.