Moderators of the impact of sociodemographic and economic factors on the well-being of caregiving men: Implications for social work practice and policy

• Main Author: Schwartz, Abby J.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Boston College 2013
• Subjects: caregiving; male caregivers; moderation; older adults; policy; practice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/3934

Thesis advisor: Kathleen McInnis-Dittrich === A vast amount of caregiving literature focuses on the well-being of caregivers of older adults, and is primarily focused on the experiences of caregiving women who have traditionally assumed this role. However, the number of male caregivers is growing related to the increase in the number of older adults requiring care, as well as changing sex roles in the family. It is important to examine the impact caregiving has on men to determine the similarities or differences from women in order to inform social work policy and practice. This dissertation begins to answer the question of whether or not there are differences between male and female caregivers through the completion of a secondary data analysis using the Caregiving in the U.S. Study, 2009, conducted by the National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP, and funded by the MetLife Foundation. Women are included in the analyses as a comparison group to the male caregivers to identify what similarities or differences exist in the caregiver's well-being. Ordered logistic regression and logistic regression analyses were used to test if caregiver's age and employment status predicted the well-being of caregivers. Moderation analysis was employed to determine what factors moderated the relationship between the predictors and well-being. Seemingly unrelated regression and Chow tests were used to determine if the impact of caregiving on men was unique or the same as female caregivers. Some key findings included that low-income group caregivers reported greater odds of higher financial hardship and physical strain. Caregiving men reported decreased emotional stress, physical strain, and negative impact on social interaction with others since beginning caregiving compared to females. Caregiving men also sought help from unpaid help (e.g., family and friends) more than female caregivers. With several provisions under the Patient and Protection Affordable Care Act of 2010 centered on addressing caregiver needs, it is an appropriate time to consider how to meet the needs of underserved caregivers. Based on the findings in this dissertation, social work policy and practice recommendations are suggested to address specifically low-income and male caregiver needs. === Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. === Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. === Discipline: Social Work.