Transition into the caregiver role among older adults: A study of social participation and social support based on the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Objectives Older adults (65 years and older) are increasingly providing care for their spouses, family members, and non-kin others (e.g., friends and neighbours). However, available knowledge of older caregivers is limited to spousal caregivers and their psychological outcomes. Other caregiver role types or social outcomes among older caregivers are less well studied. Thus, this study examines the social participation and social support among older caregivers by comparing three types of older caregivers, including spousal caregivers, non-spouse family caregivers, and non-kin caregivers. Methods Participants for this study were drawn from the Baseline and Follow-up 1 data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. A total of 3,789 older adults became caregivers during the two data collection timepoints. Linear mixed models were applied to examine the change of social participation and social support among the three caregiver role types over the course of survey. Results The study finds that after transitioning into the caregiving role, spousal caregivers and non-kin caregivers experienced a decline in social participation, and spousal caregivers also received less social support over time. When comparing the three caregiver role types, spousal caregivers reported the greatest decline in social participation and social support. Discussion This study adds to the relatively limited knowledge on older caregivers by presenting the changes of social participation and social support after transitioning into three types of caregiver roles. The results indicate the need to provide support for caregivers, particularly spousal and non-kin caregivers, to help them maintain social relationships and networks for participation and support.