Personal human values, informal caregiving and the relevance of gender and age: Findings from the population-based German Aging Survey

OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed if personal human values and provision of informal care were associated and if this differed as a function of gender or age.

METHOD: Data from the German Aging Survey were used (wave 2008, N=6,089), which included 748 informal caregivers. Human values were measured with the Human Values Scale from Schwartz (self-enhancement, self-transcendence, conservation, openness to change). Adjusted logistic regression analyses (with gender and age as additional moderators) were conducted.

RESULTS: Placing higher importance on conservation and self-enhancement values was associated with lower odds for caregiving, while a higher appreciation of self-transcendence was associated with higher odds of caregiving. With older age, a higher score in conservation values was associated with even lower odds for caregiving. Gender did not moderate these associations, still, lower odds of caregiving were found only among men with higher scores in openness to change, and only among women with higher scores in conservation values. Self-transcendence was associated with higher odds of caregiving among both, men and women.

DISCUSSION: In brief, personal values were significantly associated with informal caregiving and may act as motivators or barriers. The same motivators were found among men and women but different values were associated with lower odds of providing care. When aiming to foster informal care and a gender-equal distribution of caregiving, it could be helpful to take these values into account.