The health impact of intensive and nonintensive grandchild care in Europe: new evidence from SHARE

Di Gessa, Giorgio, Glaser, Karen and Tinker, Anthea (2015) The health impact of intensive and nonintensive grandchild care in Europe: new evidence from SHARE. Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 71 (5). pp. 867-879. ISSN 1079-5014

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (799kB) | Preview

Abstract

Objectives. Grandparents are an important source of childcare. However, caring for grandchildren may affect grandparents’ health in both positive and negative ways. Our study examines the association between grandparental childcare and grandparents’ health at 2- and 4-year follow-up. Method. Our study is based on grandparents aged 50 and older from Waves 1–4 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Using multivariate analyses, we investigated associations between intensive and nonintensive grandparental childcare at Wave 2 and subsequent health (self-rated health, depressive symptoms, and disability) controlling for covariates and health at baseline. Associations between changes over time in grandparental childcare and health at follow-up were also explored. Multiple imputation techniques and sensitivity analyses were undertaken to investigate possible biases arising from sample attrition. Results. Grandparents looking after grandchildren, whether intensively or nonintensively, experienced some health benefits. Associations strengthened when attrition was accounted for, particularly if it is assumed that those who dropped out of the study were in poor health. Discussion. Our results show better health among grandparents who provided grandchild care in the European countries studied. These results are important given the widespread provision of grandchild care in Europe.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/
Additional Information:	© 2015 The Authors © CC BY 3.0
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Date Deposited:	05 Sep 2016 12:05
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 01:01
Projects:	ES/K003348/1
Funders:	Economic and Social Research Council, Grandparents Plus, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Beth Johnson Foundation
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/67580

Actions (login required)

View Item