Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Elenka Brenna
Author-X-Name-First: Elenka 
Author-X-Name-Last: Brenna
Author-Email: elenka.brenna@unicatt.it
Author-Workplace-Name: Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Author-Name: Cinzia Di Novi
Author-X-Name-First: Cinzia 
Author-X-Name-Last: Di Novi
Author-Email: cinzia.dinovi@unive.it
Author-Workplace-Name: Università Ca’ Foscari, Dipartimento di Economia, Venezia
Title: Is caring for elderly parents detrimental to women’s mental health? The influence of the European North-South gradient
Abstract: In the last decades, both the lengthening of life expectancy and an accentuated decline in birth rates have reduced the consistency of the younger generational cohorts. Due to an ageing population, the burden of care giving is expected to intensify in the next quarter of the century in Europe, especially for mature women. This paper investigates the impact of the provision of constant care for elderly parents on the mental health of adult daughters, between the ages of 50 and 65, living in different European countries. Data is collected from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Information on mental health status is provided by Euro-D depression scale, a standardized measure of depression employed across European countries. We focus on differences in the effects according to a North–South gradient: we test whether the relationship between informal caregiving and mental health differs across European macro- regions. Our results reveal the presence of a North-South gradient in the effect of caring on women’s mental health.
Length: 27
Creation-Date: 2013-11
File-URL: http://dipartimenti.unicatt.it/economia-finanza-def0004.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
File-Function: First version, 2013
Number: def0004
Classification-JEL: I10; I12; D10
Keywords: caregiver burden, depression, parent care, LTC systems, mature women
Handle: RePEc:ctc:serie1:def0004