Table 3.
Characteristics of Primary Family and Unpaid Caregivers, by Relationship to Older Adults Receiving Self-Care or Mobility Help
| All | Spouse | Child | Other | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2004 | 2011 | 2015a | 1999 | 2015a | 1999 | 2015a | 1999 | 2015a | |
| Age (%)a | ||||||||||
| <65 years | 51.1 | 53.2 | 53.8 | 47.0 | 12.1 | 15.6 | 84.1 | 84.7 | 72.0 | 58.6 |
| 65–74 years | 24.2* | 21.9* | 27.1 | 31.6 | 38.1 | 44.5 | 13.8 | 14.7 | 13.8 | 30.0 |
| 75+ years | 24.7 | 24.9 | 19.1 | 21.5 | 49.8 | 39.9 | 2.2* | 0.6 | 14.3 | 11.4 |
| Mean age in years | 63.5 | 63.1 | 61.8 | 63.3 | 73.8 | 72.1 | 55.2 | 54.2 | 57.0 | 56.5 |
| Gender (%) | ||||||||||
| Male | 31.8 | 34.8 | 38.0 | 36.3 | 42.6 | 45.3 | 25.3 | 28.6 | 20.7 | 25.5 |
| Female | 68.2 | 65.2 | 62.0 | 63.7 | 57.4 | 54.7 | 74.7 | 71.4 | 79.3 | 74.4 |
| Marital status (%)a,b | ||||||||||
| Married | 72.4 | 70.7 | 72.4 | 52.8 | 46.9 | 50.3 | 43.7 | |||
| Widowed | 6.4 | 6.1 | 4.8 | 9.4 | 6.2 | 15.4 | 17.1 | |||
| Divorced/ separated | 11.0 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 21.2 | 24.3 | 14.4 | 20.1 | |||
| Never married | 10.2 | 12.6 | 11.0 | 16.6 | 22.7 | 19.9 | 19.0 | |||
| Fair or poor health (%)c | 32.8* | 31.6* | 25.1 | 21.7 | 35.9* | 20.3 | 30.0 | 25.6 | 31.8* | 16.5 |
| Distance to older adults’ residence (%)a,d | ||||||||||
| Live together | 76.1 | 73.7 | 75.4 | 77.4 | 58.0 | 61.2 | 63.4* | 43.0 | ||
| ≤10 min | 15.7 | 13.6 | 12.7 | 16.1 | 28.7 | 25.5 | 23.0* | 45.8 | ||
| 11–30 min | 6.2 | 9.0* | 8.8* | 4.0 | 10.1 | 7.5 | 12.5 | 8.4 | ||
| >30 min | 2.0 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 5.8 | 1.1 | 2.8 | ||
Note: ICS = Informal Caregiver Survey; NHATS = National Health and Aging Trends Study; NLTCS = National Long Term Care Survey; NSOC = National Survey of Caregivers.
aTests of statistical significance using reference period of 2015 and each category in comparison with all others.
bMarital status was not asked of caregivers in 2004. Marital status and living arrangement are not presented for spousal caregivers.
cNLTCS/ICS asked about self-rated health “compared to other people your age” and provided four response categories, excluding “very good,” whereas NHATS/NSOC asked the question directly and provided 5 response categories, including “very good”.
dDistance not reported by 77 caregivers in 2015 and recoded based on older adults’ reported living arrangement and caregiver relationship. Older adults who did not live with a caregiver (n = 52) were recoded to ≤ 10 min.
*Denotes statistical significance at p < .05.