Caregivers 60 and older who provide “marginal” assistance–spending up to an hour helping often with just one activity–report worse well-being than those who help two hours a day handling various activities, according to Vicki Freedman, research professor at the U-M Institute for Social Research.Freedman and colleagues said the finding is counterintuitive to well-established thinking that caring for more hours poses a greater psychological burden on family and other unpaid caregivers.”It may be that these marginally involved caregivers find it harder to incorporate care into their busy lives,” Freedman said. “Or it could be those with worse well-being are less able to take on a more substantial caregiving role.”

More about Freedman et al. study association between caregivers’ wellbeing and daily caregiving experience >