Partner Care Arrangements and Well-Being in Mid- and Later Life: The Role of Gender Across Care Contexts

OBJECTIVES: We assess gender moderation in the association between partner care arrangements and individuals’ well-being, and the extent to which gender differences vary across European care contexts. METHODS: We use 2015 data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for 3,465 couples aged 50+, where at least 1 partner receives care. We assess gender differences in individuals’ life satisfaction and depressive symptoms across 5 partner care arrangements: solo-; shared formal; shared informal; outsourced formal; and outsourced informal care. We explore heterogeneity in the gendered associations across 4 care contexts: Northern, Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe. RESULTS: Sharing care with formal providers is associated with lower well-being among women than men, with a significant well-being “penalty” among Southern European women with partners in shared formal care. Outsourcing partner care to informal providers is associated with higher well-being than other care arrangements for men across care contexts, but with lower well-being for women in Southern Europe. DISCUSSION: Policies to support caregivers’ well-being need to be sensitive to the coordination of formal and informal caregiving support for men and women in their respective care contexts.