Caregiving intensity and its association with subjective views of ageing among informal caregivers with different sociodemographic background: a longitudinal analysis from Germany

Abstract

Abstract We analyzed whether care time, burden and range of caregiving tasks were associated with informal caregivers’ subjective views of ageing (measured as attitudes towards own age (ATOA), subjective age and onset of old age), and whether these associations differed as a function of the caregivers’ age and gender. Adjusted cluster-robust Fixed Effects regression analyses were conducted with gender and age as moderators using data on informal caregivers (≥ 40 years) of the population-based German Ageing Survey (2014, 2017). All aspect of care intensity were associated with changes in subjective views of ageing and this pattern was a function of the caregiver’s age and gender. Care time was significantly associated with higher subjective age. Care tasks were significantly associated with higher ATOA and lower onset of old age. Age moderated the association between burden and ATOA. Gender moderated the association between care time and ATOA and between care tasks and subjective age. Age- and gender-stratified analysis indicated further differences. Our findings suggest to reduce care time, especially among older and female caregivers, to prevent a worsening of views of ageing. However, variety in care tasks seemed to benefit female caregivers, while male caregivers may benefit from more training with care task diversity.