A Profile of Positive and Negative Caregiving Experiences Among Canadian Older Adults: The Relevance of Demographic and Care Contexts

Abstract

This study examines the predictors of burdens and benefits of informal caregiving to caregivers by examining how demographic characteristics and care contexts simultaneously predict separate scales of positive and negative caregiving experiences. The Caregiving, Aging, and Financial Experiences study is a national survey which examines a representative sample of 4010 Canadians between the ages of 65 and 85, including 1641 informal caregivers that are the focus of the current analysis. Seemingly unrelated regression analyses show that there are similarities as well as differences in predictors between the two caregiving experiences. More frequent involvement in caregiving is associated with greater negative caregiving experiences but those are not significant predictors for less positive caregiving experiences. This study demonstrates that there are some overlaps of determinants of the two caregiving experiences, and a few of them are distinct. Further studies should warrant to identify additional, unobserved factors explaining variance in positive caregiving experience.