Well-being of Sibling Caregivers: Effects of Kinship Relationship and Race

Abstract

Purpose of the study: This study examined whether caregiving has a differential effect on the well-being of sibling caregivers relative to other caregiving groups and whether race moderates this effect.

Design and methods: Using the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, 631 family caregivers (including 61 sibling caregivers) and 4,944 noncaregivers were identified. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to estimate the effect of the caregiver-care recipient relationship and its interaction with race on caregivers' well-being (i.e., depressive symptoms, self-rated health, life satisfaction, and perceived control over life).

Results: Caregivers in general reported poorer well-being than noncaregivers, but sibling caregivers were less affected by caregiving than parent or spouse caregivers. Among sibling caregivers, caregiving took a significantly greater toll on non-Hispanic White caregivers than those from minority groups with respect to depressive symptoms and life satisfaction.

Implication: The findings suggest that the experience of sibling caregivers is significantly shaped by their cultural background.

Keywords: Caregiving stress; Caregiving-informal; Kinship relationship; Race; Sibling caregivers.

Figure 1.

Sample selection criteria and procedure. ^a The sample is limited to those aged 35 years and older. ^bExcluded were (i) caregivers of a family member or friend other than a spouse, child, parent, or sibling; (ii) caregivers who provided care less than 4 weeks and/or less than 1 hour per week; (iii) unmarried spouse caregivers; and (iv) noncaregivers during the past 12 months but who had been caregivers in the past more than 12 months ago. CG = caregiver; non-CG = noncaregiver.

Figure 2.

The moderating effect of race on well-being. *p ≤ .05. **p ≤ .01. ***p ≤ .001.