Association of Caregiver Types With General and Health‐Related Indicators of Subjective Well‐Being in a Longitudinal Cohort of Middle‐Aged and Older Adults in China
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: With the increased demand for care services, understanding how the association between caregiving and subjective well-being varies at different ages becomes a crucial policy concern. This study examined the longitudinal associations between informal caregiving (and different caregiver types) and selected subjective well-being outcomes. Furthermore, gender and household wealth heterogeneity were explored. METHODS: Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study data, we used growth curve models to examine how the association between informal caregiving and subjective well-being varies across age. RESULTS: Overall, caregivers reported higher life satisfaction at age 60 compared to non-caregivers, although the positive association between caregiving and life satisfaction becomes weaker and even turns negative as people age. In contrast, caregivers consistently had lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) than non-caregivers. When examining different caregiving types, grandparent caregivers initially had higher life satisfaction at age 60 than non-caregivers, but this advantage became less evident with age. Adult child caregivers generally showed higher life satisfaction than non-caregivers, whereas spousal caregivers consistently reported lower life satisfaction. Regarding HRQoL, there were no significant differences between adult child caregivers, grandparent caregivers, and non-caregivers, but spousal caregivers had significantly lower HRQoL than their non-caregiving counterparts. Furthermore, the relationship between caregiving and subjective well-being was influenced by both gender and household wealth. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between informal caregiving and subjective well-being is dynamic, and different types of caregivers display distinct age-related patterns. These findings can provide practical policy recommendations for policymakers to structure and improve sustainable informal care systems.
DOI: 10.1002/gps.70176
Authors: Qing Su, Cheng Cheng
Institutions: Renmin University of China, Southeast University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4416207697