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Does caring for others affect our mental health?: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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Does caring for others affect our mental health? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. / Costi, Chiara; Hollingsworth, Bruce; O'Sullivan, Vincent et al.
In: Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 321, 115721, 01.03.2023.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Costi, C, Hollingsworth, B, O'Sullivan, V & Zucchelli, E 2023, 'Does caring for others affect our mental health? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic', Social Science and Medicine, vol. 321, 115721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115721

APA

Costi, C., Hollingsworth, B., O'Sullivan, V., & Zucchelli, E. (2023). Does caring for others affect our mental health? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Social Science and Medicine, 321, Article 115721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115721

Vancouver

Costi C, Hollingsworth B, O'Sullivan V, Zucchelli E. Does caring for others affect our mental health? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Social Science and Medicine. 2023 Mar 1;321:115721. Epub 2023 Jan 24. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115721

Author

Costi, Chiara ; Hollingsworth, Bruce ; O'Sullivan, Vincent et al. / Does caring for others affect our mental health? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. In: Social Science and Medicine. 2023 ; Vol. 321.

Bibtex

@article{6af4007550244f5bb3594c33b4dce4e4,
title = "Does caring for others affect our mental health?: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic",
abstract = "Despite a growing literature about the mental health effects of COVID-19, less is known about the psychological costs of providing informal care during the pandemic. We examined longitudinal data from the UK's Understanding Society Survey, including eight COVID surveys, to estimate fixed effects difference-in-differences models combined with matching, to explore the causal effects of COVID-19 among informal carers. While matching accounts for selection on observables into caregiving, multiple period difference-in-differences specifications allow investigation of heterogeneous mental health effects of COVID-19 by timing and duration of informal care. The estimates suggest that while mental health fluctuated following the imposition of social restrictions, informal carers who started caregiving during the pandemic show the largest mental health deterioration, especially during lockdowns. Policies to mitigate the psychological burden of caregiving might be more effective if targeted at those starting to provide care for the first time. ",
keywords = "Informal care, Mental health, Multiple time period difference-in-differences, COVID-19",
author = "Chiara Costi and Bruce Hollingsworth and Vincent O'Sullivan and Eugenio Zucchelli",
year = "2023",
month = mar,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115721",
language = "English",
volume = "321",
journal = "Social Science and Medicine",
issn = "0277-9536",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Does caring for others affect our mental health?

T2 - Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

AU - Costi, Chiara

AU - Hollingsworth, Bruce

AU - O'Sullivan, Vincent

AU - Zucchelli, Eugenio

PY - 2023/3/1

Y1 - 2023/3/1

N2 - Despite a growing literature about the mental health effects of COVID-19, less is known about the psychological costs of providing informal care during the pandemic. We examined longitudinal data from the UK's Understanding Society Survey, including eight COVID surveys, to estimate fixed effects difference-in-differences models combined with matching, to explore the causal effects of COVID-19 among informal carers. While matching accounts for selection on observables into caregiving, multiple period difference-in-differences specifications allow investigation of heterogeneous mental health effects of COVID-19 by timing and duration of informal care. The estimates suggest that while mental health fluctuated following the imposition of social restrictions, informal carers who started caregiving during the pandemic show the largest mental health deterioration, especially during lockdowns. Policies to mitigate the psychological burden of caregiving might be more effective if targeted at those starting to provide care for the first time.

AB - Despite a growing literature about the mental health effects of COVID-19, less is known about the psychological costs of providing informal care during the pandemic. We examined longitudinal data from the UK's Understanding Society Survey, including eight COVID surveys, to estimate fixed effects difference-in-differences models combined with matching, to explore the causal effects of COVID-19 among informal carers. While matching accounts for selection on observables into caregiving, multiple period difference-in-differences specifications allow investigation of heterogeneous mental health effects of COVID-19 by timing and duration of informal care. The estimates suggest that while mental health fluctuated following the imposition of social restrictions, informal carers who started caregiving during the pandemic show the largest mental health deterioration, especially during lockdowns. Policies to mitigate the psychological burden of caregiving might be more effective if targeted at those starting to provide care for the first time.

KW - Informal care

KW - Mental health

KW - Multiple time period difference-in-differences

KW - COVID-19

U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115721

DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115721

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36827903

VL - 321

JO - Social Science and Medicine

JF - Social Science and Medicine

SN - 0277-9536

M1 - 115721

ER -