Socio-demographic determinants of informal caregiving: co-resident versus extra-resident care

This article adds to the literature on the ‘supply side’ of informal care, by examining the socio-demographic determinants of co-resident and extra-resident informal caregiving. Results from the population survey “Care in Flanders” (N = 2826), provide evidence for a different relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and informal caregiving, according to the location of care. Women, persons living without children and married (vs. unmarried) persons are more likely to be involved in extra-resident care. Involvement in co-resident care on the other hand, is more common among persons in less good health and sharing a household with someone other than a spouse or child, mostly a parent. The relationship between socio-demographic factors and care intensity is not uniform as well: while younger age and having no paid work are related to more intensive caregiving within the household, this is not the case among extra-resident caregivers. Results may be explained by the fact of some groups having more/less access to “legitimate excuses” for providing less extra-resident care, unequal risks of being confronted with (higher) care needs, as well as selection effects. Overall, our results were weak, pointing to the weakness of a strictly supply based approach in order to predict evolutions in informal care. Future studies should be aware of the differences between co-resident and extra-resident caregiving, taking into account factors from a supply as well as a demand perspective.