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

Costi, Chiara; Hollingsworth, Bruce; O'Sullivan, Vincent; Zucchelli, Eugenio

dc.contributor.author	Costi, Chiara
dc.contributor.author	Hollingsworth, Bruce
dc.contributor.author	O'Sullivan, Vincent
dc.contributor.author	Zucchelli, Eugenio
dc.date.accessioned	2024-07-22T15:41:33Z
dc.date.available	2024-07-22T15:41:33Z
dc.date.issued	2023-01-24
dc.identifier.pmid	36827903
dc.identifier.doi	10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115721
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10147/642413
dc.description	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.	en_US
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.rights	Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
dc.rights	Attribution 4.0 International	*
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	*
dc.subject	COVID-19	en_US
dc.subject	Informal care	en_US
dc.subject	mental health	en_US
dc.subject	Multiple time period difference-in-differences	en_US
dc.title	Does caring for others affect our mental health? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic.	en_US
dc.type	Article	en_US
dc.type	Other	en_US
dc.identifier.eissn	1873-5347
dc.identifier.journal	Social science & medicine (1982)	en_US
dc.source.journaltitle	Social science & medicine (1982)
dc.source.volume	321
dc.source.beginpage	115721
dc.source.endpage
refterms.dateFOA	2024-07-22T15:41:35Z
dc.source.country	England