Combining Formal and Informal Caregiving Roles: The Psychosocial Implications of Double- and Triple-Duty Care
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Women who combine formal and informal caregiving roles represent a unique, understudied population. In the literature, healthcare employees who simultaneously provide unpaid elder care at home have been referred to as double-duty caregivers. The present study broadens this perspective by examining the psychosocial implications of double-duty child care (child care only), double-duty elder care (elder care only), and triple-duty care (both child care and elder care or "sandwiched" care). METHOD: Drawing from the Work, Family, and Health Study, we focus on a large sample of women working in nursing homes in the United States (n = 1,399). We use multiple regression analysis and analysis of covariance tests to examine a range of psychosocial implications associated with double- and triple-duty care. RESULTS: Compared with nonfamily caregivers, double-duty child caregivers indicated greater family-to-work conflict and poorer partner relationship quality. Double-duty elder caregivers reported more family-to-work conflict, perceived stress, and psychological distress, whereas triple-duty caregivers indicated poorer psychosocial functioning overall. DISCUSSION: Relative to their counterparts without family caregiving roles, women with combined caregiving roles reported poorer psychosocial well-being. Additional research on women with combined caregiving roles, especially triple-duty caregivers, should be a priority amidst an aging population, older workforce, and growing number of working caregivers.
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,408
Funders: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Administration for Children and Families, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1101512602, G1216933229, G1628266561, G1738274849, G2066364297, G2233451242, Archiving the occupational cohorts in the Work, Family, and Health Network, G3239832934, G3518817918, G3803391919, G5546630224, Flexible Work and Well-Being Center at the University of Minnesota, G5823101332, G5924247454, G6294101079, A Translational Coordinating Center for the Work, Family and Health Network, G7510089256, Minnesota Population Center, G9000015133, G9000031475, G9000081570, G9000143594, G903329465
OpenAlex ID: W2118633579