The Men Who Care: An Analysis of Male Primary Caregivers Who Care for Frail Elderly at Home

Abstract

The geriatric care literature has paid little attention to a small, yet sizable group of informal caregivers—men who care for a frail elderly relative at home. This lack of attention to male caregivers is not surprising because caregiving is traditionally regarded as a "woman's job," usually assumed by a grown daughter or daughter-in-law of the care recipient. This study finds that 27% of the informal caregivers surveyed by the 1982 to 1984 National Long-Term Care Demonstration (the channeling study) are men. Male caregivers are predominantly the husbands of frail, elderly women, and they are more willing to abandon gender roles than are other male caregivers. Further, male caregivers in general appear to be healthier, more satisfied with life, more active in the labor market, and report less financial and physical stress from caregiving than do female caregivers. With the exception of spouses, our findings support the existing literature regarding the existence of strong gender differences in caregiving tasks and efforts.