Social support for informal caregivers of spouses and parents(-in-law) aged 60 years and older during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from a representative German Online Survey

OBJECTIVES: We analyzed whether spousal and adult child caregivers of older adults differed from each other and from noncaregivers in terms of the social support available to them during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, whether available support differed by gender, and whether the perception of pandemic restrictions moderated these differences.

METHODS: Participants (≥40 years) were randomly drawn from the population-based German online panel forsa.omninet. Between March 4 and 19, 2021, 2,520 noncaregivers, 337 adult child caregivers, and 55 spousal caregivers were questioned about social support, perception of pandemic restrictions, health, and sociodemographic information. Adjusted regression analyses and moderator analyses were conducted.

RESULTS: Adult child caregivers had higher social support from family and friends than noncaregivers, and more support from friends than spousal caregivers. Spousal caregivers had less social support from friends compared to both groups. The perceived restrictions of the pandemic moderated the differences in support from family and friends between spousal caregivers and noncaregivers, and the differences between spousal and adult child caregivers in support from friends. Gender moderated the difference in support by friends between caregiving and noncaregiving wives and sons(-in-law).

DISCUSSION: Informal caregivers seemed to have a supportive informal network during the pandemic. However, spousal caregivers only had similar levels of support as adult child caregivers if they strongly perceived restrictions of the pandemic, and had the lowest support level of all 3 groups-in particular from friends. Thus, spousal caregivers may benefit most from support actions, and these should focus on their wider social network.