Informal care provision and the reduction of economic activity among mid-life carers in Great Britain: a mixed-methods approach
Informal care provision and the reduction of economic activity among mid-life carers in Great Britain: a mixed-methods approach
Informal care provision is an integral part of the long-term care system. However, it has been shown to have negative effects on the carers' economic activity, and understanding the mechanisms behind this is crucial for social policy design. This study provides new insight into mid-life carers' decisions to reduce their economic activity through a convergent mixed-methods design. Quantitative analysis of a sample of 2,233 carers aged fifty from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) Wave 8 with follow up at age fifty-five, and qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews of forty-eight carers between 2008-2010, were used. The combined results indicate that being female, single never married, having financial issues, being an employee, and frequently meeting a parent are associated with economic activity reduction; the carers' own perspectives further elucidate key factors, such as their value and identity, family structure, life course events, and care intensity, which affect their decisions.
Informal parental care, National Child Development Study, economic activity, midlife, mixed-methods
Vlachantoni, Athina
06a52fbb-f2a0-4c81-9fbc-d6efc736c6cb
Wang, Ning
27d28060-d1af-4086-82b7-d6b649f2f93e
Feng, Zhixin
33c0073f-a67c-4d8a-9fea-5a502420e589
Evandrou, Maria
cd2210ea-9625-44d7-b0f4-fc0721a25d28
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519
2 December 2021
Vlachantoni, Athina
06a52fbb-f2a0-4c81-9fbc-d6efc736c6cb
Wang, Ning
27d28060-d1af-4086-82b7-d6b649f2f93e
Feng, Zhixin
33c0073f-a67c-4d8a-9fea-5a502420e589
Evandrou, Maria
cd2210ea-9625-44d7-b0f4-fc0721a25d28
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519
Vlachantoni, Athina, Wang, Ning, Feng, Zhixin, Evandrou, Maria and Falkingham, Jane
(2021)
Informal care provision and the reduction of economic activity among mid-life carers in Great Britain: a mixed-methods approach.
Social Policy and Society, 23 (2).
(doi:10.1017/S1474746421000774).
Abstract
Informal care provision is an integral part of the long-term care system. However, it has been shown to have negative effects on the carers' economic activity, and understanding the mechanisms behind this is crucial for social policy design. This study provides new insight into mid-life carers' decisions to reduce their economic activity through a convergent mixed-methods design. Quantitative analysis of a sample of 2,233 carers aged fifty from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) Wave 8 with follow up at age fifty-five, and qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews of forty-eight carers between 2008-2010, were used. The combined results indicate that being female, single never married, having financial issues, being an employee, and frequently meeting a parent are associated with economic activity reduction; the carers' own perspectives further elucidate key factors, such as their value and identity, family structure, life course events, and care intensity, which affect their decisions.
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Accepted/In Press date: 21 October 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 2 December 2021
Published date: 2 December 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The research conducted for this article was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council’s Secondary Data Analysis Initiative, Grant Number: ES/P001947/1. Ethical approval was granted from the University of Southampton’s Research Governance Office (Submission ID: 29758).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Keywords:
Informal parental care, National Child Development Study, economic activity, midlife, mixed-methods
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 453039
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/453039
ISSN: 1474-7464
PURE UUID: 0fb10caa-a71f-4108-9a4c-f12941d00497
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Date deposited: 07 Jan 2022 17:43
Last modified: 14 Dec 2024 02:42
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Author:
Ning Wang
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