Abstract
As the prevalence of informal caregiving increases, the consequences of long-term caregiving on caregivers’ cognitive and socioemotional functioning gain more importance for society. Consistent with the stress process model, caregivers tend to report poor health and socioemotional outcomes due to higher rates of stress. However, this negative view of caregiving was challenged by healthy caregiving hypothesis and recent data showing that caregiving might enhance or maintain cognitive functioning and decrease rates of mortality and functional health. Therefore, we theorize that the duration of caregiving–from the transition into caregiving to long-term caregiving–modulates the potential beneficial and detrimental effects. Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), caregiving was assessed in wave 2 (2004–2005) to wave 8 (2016–2017). MANOVAs and latent state models were used to investigate the impact of caregiving duration (0 years, 0–2 years, 2–4 years, >4 years) on cognitive function (i.e., memory and executive function) and well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and quality of life). As expected, caregiving for more than 4 years (p < .01) had a negative impact on well-being. In contrast, caregiving for 2–4 years was associated with better immediate (p < .05) and delayed recall (p < .05) than non-caregivers suggesting a U-shaped relation between caregiving duration and cognitive functioning. Consistent with expectations, caregiving duration had a differential impact on cognitive and emotional functioning suggesting that different mechanisms – such as stress, cognitive and physical engagement – may influence caregiving experiences. Future research may benefit from investigating its underlying mechanisms.