Gender differences in spousal caregiving in Japan.
BACKGROUND
Gender differences in spousal caregivers and their relationship to care experiences, social demographics, and caregivers' depression were examined.


METHODS
A stratified random sample of 2,020 users of public long-term care insurance in a city of Osaka prefecture, Japan, participated in this study. Responses from 308 spouses (56.2% wives, 43.8% husbands) were analyzed. Variables relating to care experiences, social demographics, and caregivers' depression were compared by conducting simultaneous analyses of multiple populations.


RESULTS
Wives caring for husbands had higher depression scores than husbands caring for wives. Wives tended to adopt "emotional support seeking" and "willing commitment" as coping strategies for their caregiving experience. Husband caregivers used more home-care services; however, increased service use had no effect on husbands' depression. The availability of secondary caregivers reduced depression for caregivers, regardless of gender.


CONCLUSIONS
The effects on depression differed related to the caregiver's gender. Husbands relied more on family or home-care services when caring for their wives, whereas wives provided higher levels of care, positively accepted their role, and did not seek to share caregiving, but sought emotional support.
Sugiura
Keiko
K
Department of Health Promotion Science, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita City, Osaka, Japan. sugiura@sahs.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
Ito
Mikiko
M
Kutsumi
Masami
M
Mikami
Hiroshi
H
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003625:Data Collection; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D012744:Sex Ratio; D012944:Social Support; D012945:Social Values; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000706:statistics & numerical data