Grandchild care and loneliness among older Europeans: Longitudinal evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe
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Grandchild care and loneliness among older Europeans: Longitudinal evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. / Hajek, André; König, Hans-Helmut.
In: INT J GERIATR PSYCH, Vol. 37, No. 8, 5785, 08.2022.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Grandchild care and loneliness among older Europeans: Longitudinal evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe
AU - Hajek, André
AU - König, Hans-Helmut
N1 - https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5785
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - Abstract Objectives Restricted knowledge exists with regard to the association between grandchild care and loneliness among older Europeans. Hence, our goal was to investigate the association between the onset of grandchild care and loneliness in different European regions and stratified by sex longitudinally. Methods /DesignLongitudinal data were taken from waves 5 to 6 of the ?Survey of Health Ageing, and Retirement in Europe? (SHARE) (n=83,416 observations). Loneliness was assessed using the established three-item version of the Revised UCLA Loneliness scale. Transitions into grandchild care (= onset of grandchild care) served as key independent variable. It was adjusted for several covariates in regression analysis. Linear FE regressions with cluster-robust standard errors were used to mitigate the challenge of unobserved heterogeneity. Results Linear FE regressions showed that the onset of grandchild care was associated with an increase in loneliness levels among women (but not men) in Southern Europe (?=0.28, p=.01), whereas the onset of grandchild care was not associated with changes in loneliness levels in both sexes in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and Israel. Conclusions Our study emphasized the association between the onset of grandchild care and increases in loneliness among women in Southern Europe. Efforts (e.g., respite services) are required to support this group to avoid loneliness. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
AB - Abstract Objectives Restricted knowledge exists with regard to the association between grandchild care and loneliness among older Europeans. Hence, our goal was to investigate the association between the onset of grandchild care and loneliness in different European regions and stratified by sex longitudinally. Methods /DesignLongitudinal data were taken from waves 5 to 6 of the ?Survey of Health Ageing, and Retirement in Europe? (SHARE) (n=83,416 observations). Loneliness was assessed using the established three-item version of the Revised UCLA Loneliness scale. Transitions into grandchild care (= onset of grandchild care) served as key independent variable. It was adjusted for several covariates in regression analysis. Linear FE regressions with cluster-robust standard errors were used to mitigate the challenge of unobserved heterogeneity. Results Linear FE regressions showed that the onset of grandchild care was associated with an increase in loneliness levels among women (but not men) in Southern Europe (?=0.28, p=.01), whereas the onset of grandchild care was not associated with changes in loneliness levels in both sexes in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and Israel. Conclusions Our study emphasized the association between the onset of grandchild care and increases in loneliness among women in Southern Europe. Efforts (e.g., respite services) are required to support this group to avoid loneliness. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
KW - grandchild care
KW - loneliness
KW - social isolation
KW - social exclusion
U2 - 10.1002/gps.5785
DO - 10.1002/gps.5785
M3 - SCORING: Zeitschriftenaufsatz
VL - 37
JO - INT J GERIATR PSYCH
JF - INT J GERIATR PSYCH
SN - 0885-6230
IS - 8
M1 - 5785
ER -