Elder Care Versus Adult Care

Abstract

This study compares employed persons caring for disabled adults age 18-64 with those caring for persons 65 or older, using a stratified random sample of 4,256 university employees age 30 or older. About 10% of employees were providing assistance to an adult age 18-64 and 17% to an adult age 65 or older. Employees assisting someone 18-64 provided higher levels of care than those assisting someone 65 or older; in addition, they experienced higher levels of caregiving strain and comparable levels of work interference and general role strain, after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, caregiving demands and resources, and job demands and resources. Caregiving research and policy formation need to address the growing number of family members providing assistance to disabled adults under the age of 65 as well as those providing elder care.