Helps you, helps me? Provision of instrumental and personal care and loneliness among adults aged 50 years and older during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the association between provision of instrumental and personal care, and loneliness in adults aged 50 years and older during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instrumental care referred to the provision of assistance with obtaining necessary or essential products and/or services, whereas personal care referred to the assistance with daily life activities or the provision of emotional support. Social capital and caregiver stress theories served as the study's theoretical framework.

Materials and methods: The data were obtained from the two COVID-19 waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) conducted in 2020 and 2021. The data were analyzed using logistic regression models. The analytical sample consisted of 48,722 adults in the abovementioned age bracket residing in Europe and Israel.

Results: Providing instrumental care negatively related to loneliness. Providing instrumental care to a single category of people negatively related to loneliness, whereas providing personal care to multiple categories of people positively related to loneliness. Providing personal care to children positively related to loneliness.

Conclusions: The results suggest that different types of care provision correspond differently to the experience of loneliness while partially supporting both theoretical frameworks. Moreover, care indicators correspond differently to loneliness. The results imply that for a better understanding of the link between care provision and loneliness in later life, various parameters as well as various types of care provision should be examined.

Keywords: Instrumental care; Loneliness; Middle-aged adults; Older adults; Personal care.