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. 2025 May 30;25:2008. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-23307-w

Table 2.

Descriptive statistics by family characteristics

Total
(N = 1647)
Family with care-dependent (n = 321) Family without care-dependent
(n = 1326)
Chi-Square or t-Statistic df p-value
Household size (Mean, SD) 3.15 (0.98) 3.14 (1.12) 3.15 (0.94) -0.203 437 0.840
Gender
Male 778 (47.24%) 139 (43.30%) 639 (48.19%) 1.580 490 0.115
Female 869 (52.76%) 182 (56.70%) 687 (51.81%)
Age (Mean, SD) 47.68 (15.86) 51.85 (15.20) 46.68 (15.86) 5.424 503 < 0.001
Marital status
Married or cohabiting with a partner 1532 (90.02%) 296 (92.21%) 1236 (93.21%) 0.607 466 0.544
Separated/divorced/widowed 115 (6.98%) 25 (7.79%) 90 (6.79%)
Educational attainment
Primary education or lower 292 (17.73%) 69 (21.50%) 233 (16.82%) -2.716 481 0.007
Secondary education 699 (42.44%) 144 (44.86%) 555 (41.85%)
Post-secondary education or above 656 (39.83%) 108 (33.64%) 548 (41.33%)
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
Unemployed 80 (4.86%) 28 (8.72%) 52 (3.92%) 2.884 396 0.004
Family monthly income (in HKD)
Below median family monthly income 883 (53.61%) 209 (65.11%) 674 (50.83%) -4.764 504 < 0.001
Above median family monthly income 764 (46.39%) 112 (34.89%) 652 (49.17%)
Ratio of rent or mortgage/Family income (Mean, SD) 14.96 (16.47) 15.05 (18.26) 14.94 (16.01) 0.097 446 0.923
Under 30% 1445 (87.74%) 277 (86.30%) 1168 (88.08%) 1.050 454 0.295
30 − 49% 112 (6.80%) 22 (6.85%) 90 (6.79%)
50% or above 90 (5.46%) 22 (6.85%) 68 (5.13%)
Per capita living space/average living space per person (Mean, SD) 155.59 (70.21) 149.94 (70.71) 156.96 (70.04) -1.599 483 0.111
Below median 1303 (79.11%) 252 (78.51%) 1051 (79.26%) 0.296 481 0.767
Above median 344 (20.89%) 69 (21.49%) 275 (20.74%)
Disability or chronic illness 285 (17.30%) 90 (28.04%) 195 (14.71%) -4.951 421 < 0.001
Major Caregiver 60 (66.67%) 26.683 89 < 0.001
Non-major caregiver 30 (33.33%)
Caregiving roles
Non-caregiver 1326 (80.51%) 0 (0.00%) 1326 (100%) -23.152 320 < 0.001
Primary caregiver 201 (12.20%) 201 (62.62%) 0 (0.00%) 46.045 200 < 0.001
Male primary caregiver 81 (40.30%)
Female primary caregiver 120 (59.70%)
Secondary caregiver 120 (7.29%) 120 (37.38%) 0 (0%) 60.125 320 < 0.001
Perceived social support 61.63 (11.49) 58.69 (12.53) 62.34 (11.12) -4.776 450 < 0.001
Access to social services (Mean, SD) 782 (47.48%) 160 (49.84%) 622 (46.91%) -0.943 486 0.346
Outcomes
Physical health (Mean, SD) 3.16 (0.93) 3.51 (0.86) 3.07 (0.92) -7.955 516 < 0.001
Mental health (Mean, SD) 2.29 (2.72) 3.25 (3.01) 2.06 (2.59) 6.575 442 < 0.001
Life satisfaction (Mean, SD) 17.55 (6.31) 19.00 (6.69) 17.19 (6.17) 4.413 461 < 0.001