Care provision and social participation among older adults in Europe: longitudinal evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Pamela Almeida-Meza (), Giorgio Gessa (), Rebecca Lacey (), Anne McMunn () and Baowen Xue ()
Additional contact information
Pamela Almeida-Meza: University College London
Giorgio Gessa: University College London
Rebecca Lacey: City St George’s, University of London
Anne McMunn: University College London
Baowen Xue: University College London

European Journal of Ageing, 2025, vol. 22, issue 1, No 24, 14 pages

Abstract: Abstract Providing care to family members and friends in older age is common, but it can impact the carers’ time and energy for social participation. This study explores the relationship between care and social participation in 16 European countries, considering factors like care status, care frequency, relationship to the care recipient, gender, socioeconomic status, and country care regimes. The study utilised pooled data from the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Multiple regression models assessed the association between care status (non-carer, carer, and former carer) and social participation measured through volunteering frequency and group membership. The models adjusted for various demographic and socioeconomic covariates. The study found that carers, especially those doing so more frequently (daily and weekly care), were more likely to volunteer and belong to groups compared to non-carers. Furthermore, compared to non-carers individuals caring for their partner, parent, or non-relatives were more likely to engage in social participation. The association between care and social participation appeared stronger for carers in countries with supportive care regimes. The findings support the idea that care and social participation are complementary activities, where engagement in one represents an avenue for greater participation in the other.

Keywords: Care; Caregiving; Social participation; Volunteering; Older age (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10433-025-00856-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:eujoag:v:22:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10433-025-00856-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer ... iences/journal/10433

DOI: 10.1007/s10433-025-00856-y

Access Statistics for this article

European Journal of Ageing is currently edited by Marja Aartsen, Susanne Iwarsson and Prof. Dr. Matthias Kliegel

More articles in European Journal of Ageing from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().