Experiences of rural male caregivers of older adults with their informal support networks

More male caregivers are assuming primary caregiving roles for older adults with chronic health conditions. One of the main sources of support for many caregivers is the assistance that is provided by members of their informal support network. Little is known about the relationship between male caregivers and their informal support networks. This qualitative study examines the experience of male caregivers with their informal support networks, specifically looking at two phenomena: (1) Perceptions of the male caregivers about the willingness of their informal support networks to provide caregiving assistance and (2) Willingness of the male caregivers to ask their informal support networks for assistance. Twenty male caregivers were recruited across a rural Midwestern state. Each male caregiver engaged in two interviews that lasted between 60 and 120 minutes. Seven themes emerged from the data about the male caregivers experience with their informal support networks. Results from this study have implications for geriatric health professionals who work with male caregivers to obtain the necessary amount of caregiving assistance.     

Compulsory intergenerational family solidarity shaping choices between work and care: Perceptions of informal female carers and local policymakers in Estonia

Estonians are obliged by law to provide maintenance for family members who are unable to cope by themselves. As a result, 80% of fragile older people receive informal care. Whether this is because the carers themselves feel solidarity and choose informal caring or because they lack alternatives is the question. We applied the cultural approach for explaining the construction of compulsory family solidarity in care provision to older people through the perceptions of informal carers and policy actors. Our interest is in how filial norms framed by individual responsibilities of care provision required by law can influence (i) informal carers’ perceptions concerning their choices between work and care and (ii) impact policy actors’ perceptions concerning eldercare service provision. Analysing the empirical data produced during focus groups with female carers and interviews with policy actors, we demonstrate the triple‐fold pressure to informal caregiving as an expression of compulsory family solidarity. Key Practitioner Message: ? The article demonstrates how the national Family Law Act constitutes a compulsory requirement of family solidarity in society; ? The compulsory family solidarity norm influences local‐level policymaking and inhibits the development of formal care services for older people; ? Informal carers’ choices between work and care are shaped by their personal filial norms, familialistic policymaking, and pressure exerted by older people.     

Financial access and household’s borrowing: Policy perspectives of an emerging economy

This paper analyzes access to finance based on the usage of financial services by Indian households. Based on two rounds of nationally representative All India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) for 2002 and 2012, we examine how access to credit is associated with a household's socioeconomic and demographic characteristics using Heckman’s two-step approach procedure. Our results show that belonging to higher asset quintile groups has a statistically significant positive effect on the household's decision to take loans only from the formal sector in both rounds and significant negative effects on taking a loan only from the informal sector. Similarly, social and religious groups play a significant role in the decision of the household to take a loan. Households with more educated adults are more likely to take a loan. Households involved in regular wage-earning occupations in urban areas are more likely to take a loan from formal sources. Thus, the importance of policy placing greater emphasis on demand-side barriers rather than on improving the physical availability of formal financial services to promote financial inclusion in India.     

Helpful citizens and caring families: Patterns of informal help and caregiving in Sweden in a 17‐year perspective

Jegermalm M, Grassman EJ. Helpful citizens and caring families: patterns of informal help and caregiving in Sweden in a 17‐year perspective This article reports on an analysis of informal help and caregiving in Sweden with, for the first time, a focus on patterns of change over 17 years regarding scope, type of caregivers and the recipients of help. The discussion is based on results from a national survey repeated four times between 1992 and 2009. In the 1990s, the figures were stable, but from the late 1990s to 2009, there seems to have been a dramatic increase in the extent of informal help giving. Concerning types of helpers, the patterns implied involvement not only from family members, but also from other types of helpers. Two interpretative perspectives were used in the analysis: the first from recent welfare state changes and the substitution argument; the second from the present debate on civil society and its possible and changing role. These perspectives represent two partly complementary approaches to the understanding of the dynamics of informal involvement in contemporary Swedish society.     

Patterns of Informal Help and Caregiving in Sweden: A Thirteen-Year Perspective

This article analyses informal help and caregiving in Sweden with a focus on the scope and trends of change over time. The discussion is based on the results of three national surveys and of one survey conducted in the county of Stockholm. The results indicated that informal help and caregiving was common throughout the period under study. In the 1990s, the figures were fairly stable, while from the late 1990s to 2005 there seems to have been a dramatic increase in the prevalence of such support. Two interpretative perspectives are used to discuss this pattern. One locates its point of departure in recent welfare state changes and in the substitution argument, according to which cuts in welfare services put more pressure on people to provide informal help and care. The second perspective relates to the present debate on civil society and to its possible role in contemporary society. According to the civil society perspective, an increase in the prevalence of informal help and caregiving might be interpreted as an expression of growing civic involvement 'in its own right', without a straightforward and simple relationship to changes in the welfare state. It is argued in the article that the two frames of interpretation should not be viewed as mutually exclusive, but rather that they represent two partly complementary approaches to the understanding of the complex dynamics of unpaid work in contemporary Swedish society.     

An Analysis of Supervisor Support of Policies on Workplace Flexibility

ABSTRACT

Workplace flexibility policies provide workers with an opportunity to attain a healthy work–life balance. This study utilized a secondary data set of 658 supervisors from a study that was commissioned by the work–life office of a major university in the Southern United States to get a better understanding of the implementation of flexibility policies at this university. The purpose of examining this secondary data set was to determine whether supervisors who have caregiving responsibilities are more likely to be supportive of workplace flexibility policies than those with no caregiving responsibilities. The findings indicate that supervisors who have caregiving responsibilities are no more likely to be supportive of workplace flexibility than those with no caregiving responsibilities. This finding is important to those who have a vested interest in understanding factors that may promote or undermine workplace policies that have direct impact on workers and their families. Future research and recommendations for practice are made.     

Depressive Symptoms among Former Spousal Caregivers: Comparing Stressors,Resources, and Circumstances of Caregiving Cessation among Older Husbands and Wives

Little research focuses on the mental health of caregivers (CGs) who stop providing care to their community-dwelling spouse. We examine depressive symptoms of former primary CG spouses who stopped caregiving over a two-year follow-up period when the care recipient (CR): (1) no longer has functional problems; (2) continues having functional problems; or (3) dies. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000–2014), we located 2,370 couples who were both 50+ at baseline and where one partner provided help with ADL and/or IADL limitations but did not do so two years later. OLS regressions stratified by gender indicated that both male and female former spousal CGs whose CR died had significantly more depressive symptoms than those who ceased caregiving when their spouse did or did not still have functional problems. Former wife CGs who were older and whose husbands had more baseline ADLs had fewer follow-up depressive symptoms; wife CGs whose husbands had a nursing home stay had more depressive symptoms. Former husband CGs who had provided longer monthly hours of care had fewer follow-up symptoms. Findings underscore the importance of targeting mental and physical health services to both former caregiving husbands and wives, especially after spousal death.     

Use of Professional and Informal Support by Black Men with Mental Disorders

This study utilized data from the National Survey of American Life to investigate the use of professional services and informal support among African American and Caribbean black men with a lifetime mood, anxiety, or substance use disorder. Thirty-three percent used both professional services and informal support, 14% relied on professional services only, 24% used informal support only, and 29% did not seek help. African American men were more likely than to rely on informal support alone. Having co-occurring mental and substance disorders, experiencing an episode in the past 12 months, and having more people in the informal network increased the likelihood of using professional services and informal supports. Marital status, age, and socioeconomic status were also significantly related to help-seeking. The results suggests potential unmet need. However, the reliance on informal support also suggests a strong protective role that informal networks play in the lives of black men.     

Poverty and quality of life of Chinese children: From the perspective of deprivation

Using data from the Family and Children Survey of Beijing 2011, the authors constructed a child poverty measure – Child Deprivation Indicators (CDIs) – and explored the relationship between poverty and children's quality of life. The CDIs were found to be a more valid child poverty measure than the conventional measure which is based mainly on individuals' social assistance status. The findings show that deprived children are worse off in terms of living conditions. Furthermore, deprived boys and girls are disadvantaged differently; boys in self‐efficacy and girls in physical development. The findings have four important implications: (i) policy makers should look beyond those on social assistance; (ii) more public funding should be invested in deprived children's informal education and social interaction; (iii) dealing with structural problems relating to parents' socioeconomic status (SES) would be helpful to alleviate child deprivation; (iv) different types of support should be provided to deprived boys and girls for their disadvantages are not identical.     

The Impact of Caring on Informal Carers' Employment,Income and Earnings: a Longitudinal Approach

In Australia the policy balance has shifted away from institutional forms of health and aged care towards supporting people in their own homes. This change presupposes a significant and growing supply of informal caring labour. A large proportion of informal carers (40–60 per cent) currently combine paid employment with their caring responsibilities. Using the longitudinal Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, the paper examines the effect of caring on employment, hours worked and earnings. The analysis shows that working age carers experience disadvantage. Carers are more likely than non‐carers to reduce their hours of work or exit from the labour force, and earn lower levels of income. In planning for an ageing population, policies will need to address these negative effects and privatised costs of caring if the supply of informal care is to be sustained in the future.     

Caring for Individuals with Chronic Illness and Minor Depression: Latino Perceptions of Caregiver Burden

ABSTRACT

Informal caregiving can be fundamental to disease management. Yet, the psychosocial, physical, and financial burden experienced by caregivers can be significant. In the US, Latinos experience increasing rates of chronic conditions, the highest uninsured rates in the country, and a growing dependence on informal caregivers. This article explores the impact of caregiving on caregivers of individuals with comorbid chronic disease and depression. Findings highlight the impact of caregiving on financial insecurity, balancing competing demands, increased emotional distress, and community supports. Findings support the inclusion of caregivers in disease management programs to enhance psychosocial outcomes for both caregivers and their patients.     

Can Cultural Values Help Explain the Positive Aspects of Caregiving Among Chinese American Caregivers?

This study used an adaptation of the caregivers' stress model to examine the positive aspects of caregiving with 113 Chinese American family caregivers who provided care to their elderly relatives. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that combination of caregiver background characteristics, stressors, and cultural values had direct effects on positive aspects of caregiving. Unlike previous studies in which cultural values were not measured, this study found that cultural values helped explain positive aspects of caregiving. Specifically, cultural values, caregiver's health, and caregiver's age predicted positive aspects of caregiving. Service implications are discussed based upon the findings.     

Dementia Caregiving Outcomes: The Impact of Caregiving Onset,Cognitive Impairment and Behavioral Problems

With a projected increase in the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias, family caregiving is steadily increasing. Caring for an individual with AD is characterized as a “career,” and within this career are a number of key transitions, including the onset of caregiving. Research reveals a number of negative emotional health outcomes for AD caregivers, including depression and role overload, but less research has examined the influence of key transitions on the emotional adaptation of caregivers. The purpose of this study is to examine how different patterns of caregiving onset (gradual and abrupt) impact emotional health outcomes for AD caregivers. This study also explores how care-recipient cognitive impairment and behavioral problems moderate these relationships. Cross-sectional, quantitative data from 100 caregivers completing self-administered surveys were used. A series of one-way ANOVAs and multiple regression analyses were conducted to address study aims. Results indicate that care-recipient cognition and behavioral problems moderated the relationship between caregiving onset and emotional health outcomes for caregivers who experienced a more abrupt entry into the caregiving role. Results suggest the importance of considering different onset transitions and moderating factors within the caregiving career to target clinical interventions. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

Impact of Childhood Socioeconomic Position on Self‐Rated Health Trajectories of South Korean Adults

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) on adult health trajectory in South Korea. Seven waves of data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS, 2007–2012; Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 2014 ) were analyzed using latent growth curve analysis. Health condition was measured by self‐assessment. The major independent variables were indicators of childhood and adult SEP. The findings suggest that those who perceive their childhood economic condition to be more affluent are more likely to assess their health to be better at the intercept. The insignificant effect of childhood economic condition on the slope and the quadratic term suggest that the initial gap remains over time. On the other hand, a disruption in education as a result of poverty was significantly associated with the intercept, slope, and quadratic term. The results suggest that although the large gap at wave 1 somewhat decreases, the gap in health remains because of the significant quadratic term. Childhood SEP has a a lasting effect on adult health trajectories, after controlling for adult SEP. Significant findings support policies and programs that are targeted to reduce socioeconomic disparities in childhood to enhance equality and public health.     

中国公众的收入公平感:一种新制度主义社会学的解释

借助“嵌入性”和“合法性”概念,本文将关于社会公平感形成的基本共识理论与自我评价理论整合起来,提出了一种关于分配公平感的新制度主义社会学解释。本文认为,社会成员对自己所获得的社会资源是否公平的感受取决于社会成员的自我认知与社会共识之间达成一致的程度。当自我感知的地位低于社会评价的地位时,个体倾向于认为自己所得到的社会资源是不公平的;相反,当自我感知的地位与社会评价地位一致或更高时,个体则更有可能认为自己所得到的社会资源是公平的。基于上述命题,本文进一步提出研究假设,相对于主观阶层地位达到或高于其职业声望者,主观阶层地位低于其职业声望的人更倾向于认为自己的收入是不公平的。对2006年中国综合社会调查(CGSS2006)数据的分析结果较有力地支持了这一研究假设;研究结果表明,本文所提出的理论命题比基于理性选择的自利理论更好地解释了为什么社会成员,尤其是社会经济地位较低者,依然会认为自己的收入是公平的。     

Hispanic Familism in Caretaking of Older Adults

The role of familism in elderly adults has been professed to be the central institution in their lives. Though, Hispanic caretakers have provided high levels of informal care, it is the purpose of this paper to give evidence that current under utilization of formal services by the Hispanic family has dysfunctional side-effects. Reliance solely upon informal familial support increases dependency upon children which has been correlatcd with depression. Reliance also perpetuates a cycle of poverty as children's economic opportunities are sacrificed due to caregiving. Ideas for how to effectively intervene in this self-destructive pattern are suggested.     

Is cash allowance a way to ease child care burden? Views of carers in Hong Kong

Caring for the carers is not only a policy challenge for the government but also a global concern to achieve gender equality by restructuring welfare for care. Paying informal carers is one of the measures that address their needs, which is being practiced in Western countries for more than 10 years now. Financial support for care does not only value the contribution of carers but also compensate for the loss of carers caused by unpaid care duties. However, cash for care is a complex issue because it is located within a number of different policy domains that may be considered controversial. This study discusses the views of carers on cash allowance and identifies issues affecting the support provided to the informal care system in Hong Kong. The discussion is based on the findings from the focus group interviews with 11 groups of carers with different socioeconomic backgrounds.     

Gang membership and bias against young people who break the law

High school students (n=148), college students (n=98) and adult church members (n=108) reacted to vignettes depicting an illegal act by a young person: spray painting a wall (malicious mischief) or pointing a handgun at another person (felony menacing). In a randomized 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design, manipulated variables were perpetrator as male/female, as Hispanic/not, as a gang member/not, and perpetrator accompanied by other young people versus alone. Church members perceived greatest danger, were most likely to report the incident, but high school students were the most punitive. The mischief vignette showed subjects were less likely to confront gang members, perceived them to be more dangerous, were more likely to report them to police, and more were likely to advocate locking them up. This bias was not observed in the menacing vignette. Perhaps greater seriousness of the incident overwhelmed the salience of gang membership.     

Lone Parents and Informal Childcare: A Tax Credit Childcare Subsidy?

The Labour government aims to increase the lone parent employment rate to 70 per cent by 2010. To achieve this aim, it has introduced a state subsidy for childcare in the form of the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit. So far this has been limited to formal childcare despite evidence that lone parents are more likely to use informal childcare. This article investigates the potential of a state subsidy to be extended to support informal childcare. Utilizing evidence from a study of 78 qualitative in‐depth interviews with lone parents, it explores preferences for informal care and the way that informal care is negotiated. On the one hand, we found that some lone parents held deeply embedded preferences for informal childcare based on trust, commitment, shared understandings and children's happiness. Thus it can be concluded that it is important for the government to support informal as well as formal care. On the other, we found that the way lone parents actually negotiated informal childcare involved complex notions of obligation, duty and reciprocity, suggesting that a subsidy could potentially intrude upon complex private family relationships. However, the evidence suggests that care was negotiated differently depending on whether it was provided by a grandparent or other family and friends, with lone parents tending to favour paying for childcare provided by other family and friends than grandparents. This has implications for a state subsidy, which needs further investigation.