Evandrou, Maria, Falkingham, Jane, Qin, Min and Vlachantoni, Athina , Mcgowan, Teresa (ed.) (2024) Trends in informal caregiving in Great Britain from 1985 to 2020 (ESRC Centre for Population Change and Connecting Generations Working Paper Series, 111) ESRC Centre for Population Change 45pp.
Abstract
This working paper examines the trends, patterns and factors influencing the provision of informal care in Great Britain from 1985 to 2020. The data employed for this study include the General Household Survey (GHS) Waves 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) Wave 2005, and the UK Longitudinal Household Study (UKHLS) Waves 2010, 2015, 2020.
Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis are used to examine caregiving trends and patterns across different ages, cohorts, genders, categories of economic activity, household structures, household resources, and regions. Following the analysis of repeated cross-sectional data, examining changes in the percentage of respondents who are providing care across time, the paper employs pseudo-cohorts to explore the changes in caregiving across different birth cohorts. This allows comparison between cohorts at the same age and life stage.
Our findings reveal an upward trend in informal caregiving across time. The prevalence of caregiving forms an inverse U-shape across the life course, peaking in middle age for both genders. Women provide more care in early adulthood, middle age, and young-old age, while men slightly surpass women after age 75, reflecting gender differences in spousal survival. The care gender gap widened between 1985 and 2020, with cohorts born between 1951 and 1970 experiencing a wider disparity between the genders in middle age than earlier or later cohorts.
Intensive caregiving, i.e. providing care for 20 or more hours a week, is more common in more recent birth cohorts, reflecting the increased survival of their parents into older ages. We found that among parents with dependent children, lone parents are more likely to be “sandwiched” than couples, especially when intensive caregiving is provided. Moreover, lone parents with young children are more likely to provide elder care and less likely to be employed full-time than their couple counterparts. More generally, among the working-age population, individuals who are unemployed or economically inactive are more likely to engage in caregiving compared to those who are employed either full-time or part-time. While caregiving rates have risen for both economically inactive individuals and those in full-time work, the increase is much more pronounced among the former. Among full-time workers, caregiving rates have also grown, but at a slower pace. Gender plays a role in these trends. Women consistently show a higher likelihood of caregiving than men across all employment statuses, and this gendered trend has strengthened over time.
Our study further uncovers that household resources are associated with informal caregiving. Those having access to a car or living in accommodation with two or more bedrooms are more likely to be providing informal care, particularly caregiving to parents/parents-in-law.
The prevalence of caregiving shows considerable variations across regions. In 2015, the highest rates of informal caregiving were found in East Midlands, West Midlands, Wales, Northeast, and Scotland, while London had the lowest rate of informal caregiving. Across the thirty years between 1985 and 2015, nearly all regions saw an increase in the prevalence of caregiving, with more significant rises in the Southwest, East Midlands, and Scotland. The exception to this increase was London, where caregiving rates remained constantly low throughout the period.
This research highlights areas where policy and programme interventions can better support caregivers and promote equitable access to resources for those in need.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Identifiers
Catalogue record
Export record
Contributors
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.