Men take care of spouses just as well as women
Men respond to their spouse’s illness just as much as women do and as a result are better caregivers in later life than previous research suggests, according to a new Oxford University collaboration.
The research sits in contrast to previous studies on spousal caregiving, which found that female caregivers tend to be more responsive. However, the new results reveal that men are just as responsive to a partner’s illness, as women.
The findings show that men increased their care hours as much as women did, resulting in similar levels of care once their partner became ill. These similarities were particularly pronounced when a spouse was deemed severely ill, when there was little to no difference in the level of care given.
Perhaps surprisingly, when their spouse is severely ill, men also increase the time they spend on housework and errands, more than women. However, at lower levels of spousal care need – when a spouse is only slightly unwell, women still spend more time doing housework and errands than men – because they already did more housework and errands prior to the disease onset.
‘Our results suggest that gender differences in spousal caregiving in old age are not as pronounced as previously thought. Past studies had numerous limitations, which we could overcome with our data,” said Oxford University’s Dr Laura Langner.
Who is the better caregiver in your household?
Excellent topic. Yep, men are great caregivers. When my Mom was ill, although we had people come in to help out, my Dad was at her beck and call. He didn't need to do much, but the emotional support having her lifelong partner always by her side, was a great boon for Mom.