The DOI matches its Crossref record; 121 of the 123 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Gender differences in caregiving among family - caregivers of people with mental illnesses
Open accessAbstract
All over the world women are the predominant providers of informal care for family members with chronic medical conditions or disabilities, including the elderly and adults with mental illnesses. It has been suggested that there are several societal and cultural demands on women to adopt the role of a family-caregiver. Stress-coping theories propose that women are more likely to be exposed to caregiving stressors, and are likely to perceive, report and cope with these stressors differently from men. Many studies, which have examined gender differences among family-caregivers of people with mental illnesses, have concluded that women spend more time in providing care and carry out personal-care tasks more often than men. These studies have also found that women experience greater mental and physical strain, greater caregiver-burden, and higher levels of psychological distress while providing care. However, almost an equal number of studies have not found any differences between men and women on these aspects. This has led to the view that though there may be certain differences between male and female caregivers, most of these are small in magnitude and of doubtful clinical significance. Accordingly, caregiver-gender is thought to explain only a minor proportion of the variance in negative caregiving outcomes. A similar inconsistency characterizes the explanations provided for gender differences in caregiving such as role expectations, differences in stress, coping and social support, and response biases in reporting distress. Apart from the equivocal and inconsistent evidence, there are other problems in the literature on gender differences in caregiving. Most of the evidence has been derived from studies on caregivers of elderly people who either suffer from dementia or other physical conditions. Similar research on other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or mood disorders is relatively scarce. With changing demographics and social norms men are increasingly assuming roles as caregivers. However, the experience of men while providing care has not been explored adequately. The impact of gender on caregiving outcomes may be mediated by several other variables including patient-related factors, socio-demographic variables, and effects of kinship status, culture and ethnicity, but these have seldom been considered in the research on gender differences. Finally, it is apparent that methodological variations in samples, designs and assessments between studies contribute a great deal to the observed gender differences. This review highlights all these issues and concludes that there is much need for further research in this area if the true nature of gender differences in family-caregiving of mental illnesses is to be discerned.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“the burgeoning recent literature on informal caregiving has highlighted that this role is mostly assumed by females in a wide array of conditions including advanced cancer [28,29,30,31].”
From Failures in Reflective Functioning and Reported Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Bereaved Individuals: A Study on a Sample of Family Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients (2022) · cites this paper as [30]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“Prior research suggests that female carers tend to spend more time in caregiving and often have to play multiple conflicting roles 57 resulting in greater psychological distress compared to male carers 11,58,59 .”
From Anxiety in Informal Dementia Carers: A Meta-Analysis of Prevalence (2020) · cites this paper as [57]
In the citing paper
“The current literature also highlights that there may be some other potential factors which may have an impact on psychological difficulties experienced by carers such as the time spent on caregiving, role conflicts (e.g., being mother, employee, and carer), and types of caregiving tasks involved (i.e., the level of impairment and independence) 57 .”
From Anxiety in Informal Dementia Carers: A Meta-Analysis of Prevalence (2020) · cites this paper as [57]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Pinquart, M., & Sörensen, S. (2003) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.18.2.250 · Cited by 2,857
Schulz, R., O'Brien, A. T., Bookwala, J., & Fleissner, K. (1995) · The Gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/35.6.771 · Cited by 1,765
Is caregiving hazardous to one’s physical health? A meta-analysis
Vitaliano, P. P., Zhang, J., & Scanlan, J. M. (2003) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.6.946 · Cited by 1,734
Caregivers of the Frail Elderly: A National Profile
Stone, R., Cafferata, G. L., & Sangl, J. A. (1987) · The Gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/27.5.616 · Cited by 1,216
Gender Differences in Caregiver Stressors, Social Resources, and Health: An Updated Meta-Analysis
Pinquart, M., & Sorensen, S. (2006) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences · doi:10.1093/geronb/61.1.p33 · Cited by 1,213
Correlates of Physical Health of Informal Caregivers: A Meta-Analysis
Pinquart, M., & Sörensen, S. (2007) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/62.2.p126 · Cited by 1,132
Caregiver burden among dementia patient caregivers: A review of the literature
Etters, L., Goodall, D., & Harrison, B. E. (2008) · Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners · doi:10.1111/j.1745-7599.2008.00342.x · Cited by 1,112
Ory, M. G., Hoffman, R. R., Yee, J. L., Tennstedt, S., & Schulz, R. (1999) · The Gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/39.2.177 · Cited by 991
Gender Differences in Psychiatric Morbidity Among Family Caregivers
Yee, J. L., & Schulz, R. (2000) · The Gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/40.2.147 · Cited by 660
Cultural values and caregiving: The updated sociocultural stress and coping model
Knight, B. G., & Sayegh, P. (2010) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbp096 · Cited by 585
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 123 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 16
- Bush EC. Gender differences in specific caregiver burdens. Master’s thesis. The University of Utah. 1997. Available from: http://content.lib.utah.edu/utils/getfile/collection/etd1/id/960/.../700.pdf.
- Mathiowetz NA, Oliker S. The gender gap in caregiving to adults. Manuscript prepared for presentation at the American Time Use Survey Early Results Conference. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 2005-09. Available from: http://www.atususers.umd.edu/wip2/papers/Oliker.pdf.
- Dupuis SL, Epp T, Smale B. Caregivers of persons with dementia: roles, experiences, supports and coping: a literature review In: Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program, University of Waterloo, MAREP; 2004; Available from: http://uwaterloo.ca/...research...research.../InTheirOwnVoices-Literature.
- Lovelace LMK. The effect of coping strategies on burden among male Alzheimer’s caregivers. MSW thesis. Louisiana State University, 2012. Available from: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04262012-170458/.../Lovelace_Thesis.pdf.
- Donius M. Gender differences in caregiving role strain among spouse caregivers to frail older persons. Master’s Thesis. Oregon Health and Science University. Student Scholar Archive. 1985. Available from: http://www.digitalcommons.ohsu.edu/etd.
- Almada AZ. Gender and caregiving: a study among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white frail elders. Master’s Thesis. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 2001. Available from: http://www. scholar.lib.vt.edu.
- Gilligan C. In a different voice Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press; 1982;.
- Ola BA. The influence of burden of care and perceived stigma on expressed emotions of relatives of stable persons with schizophrenia in Nigerian semi-urban/urban settings. Masters dissertation in international mental health. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. 2013. Available from: http//run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/9673/.../Ola Bolanle TM 2013.pdf.
- Pike B. Caregiver experiences of parents who support adult children with schizophrenia. Master of Health Science thesis. Auckland University of Technology. [accessed 2015 May 13]. Available from: http//www.supportingfamilies.org.nz/.../Supporting_a_Person_with_Schizophrenia.sflb.ashx.
- Kumar S, Mohanty S. Spousal burden of care in schizophrenia. J Indian Acad Appl Psychol 2007;33:189-194.
- Kaushik P, Bhatia MS. Burden and quality of life in spouses of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Delhi Psychiatry J 2013;16:83-88.
- Seng BK. The impact of schizophrenia: the burden of care. PhD Thesis. Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore. 2005-05-15. Available from: http//scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/bitstream/handle/.../full thesis final.pdf.
- Barman N, Chakravorty P. A descriptive study to assess the level of stress among family members of selected mentally ill clients attending psychiatry OPD of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Open J Psych All Sci 2012;3:65-73.
- Sharma N. The relationship of gender and burden among caregivers of patients with chronic mental illnesses. MD Psychiatry thesis Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh: India; 2014;.
- Nehra R, Kulhara P, Verma SK. Adaptation of the Social Support Questionnaire in Hindi: Indian setting. Ind J Clin Psychol 1996;23:33-39.
- Antonucci TC. Social support and social relationships. Handbook of aging and the social sciences Orlando, FL: Academic Press; 1990;205-225.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–200 of 864
Laranjeira, C., Dixe, M. D. A., & Querido, A. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20126121 · Cited by 28
“While caring remains a predominantly feminine activity, several authors have highlighted women’s higher emotional and social connectedness towards their patients and their sense of family obligation compared to men [47].”
BackgroundFee, A., McIlfatrick, S., & Ryan, A. A. (2020) · International Journal of Older People Nursing · doi:10.1111/opn.12318 · Cited by 28
Rodríguez, A. A., Martínez, Ó., Amayra, I., Paz, J. F. L., Al-Rashaida, M. A. H., Lázaro, E., Caballero, P., Pérez, M., Berrocoso, S., García, M., et al. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18062991 · Cited by 28
Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiver Characteristics and Their Relationship with Anticipatory Grief
Pérez-González, A., Celaya, J. V., & Guàrdia‐Olmos, J. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18168838 · Cited by 28
“On the other hand, there is a social construct that women fill the role of caregivers based on beliefs about the protective functions of the family and of women as natural care providers [50].”
BackgroundWillems, L. M., Schubert‐Bast, S., Grau, J., Hertzberg, C., Kurlemann, G., Wiemer‐Kruel, A., Bast, T., Bertsche, A., Bettendorf, U., Fiedler, B. J., et al. (2021) · European Journal of Paediatric Neurology · doi:10.1016/j.ejpn.2021.10.003 · Cited by 28
Yates, S., Carey, G. E., Hargrave, J., Malbon, E., & Green, C. (2021) · International Journal for Equity in Health · doi:10.1186/s12939-021-01571-7 · Cited by 28
Stress and support in the workplace: The perspective of forensic examiners
Almazrouei, M. A., Morgan, R. M., & Dror, I. E. (2021) · Forensic Science International Mind and Law · doi:10.1016/j.fsiml.2021.100059 · Cited by 28
Lau, S. S. S., Shum, E. N. Y., Man, J. O. T., Cheung, E. T. H., Amoah, P. A., Leung, A. Y. M., Okan, O., & Dadaczynski, K. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph192315777 · Cited by 28
“This finding may be explained by the fact that females are generally more involved in caring functions at home, resulting in additional responsibilities and, hence, more stress [55].”
BackgroundRossi Ferrario, S., & Panzeri, A. (2020) · Artificial Organs · doi:10.1111/aor.13630 · Cited by 27
Informal Caregiving for People With Life-Limiting Illness: Exploring the Knowledge Gaps
Lung, E. Y. L., Wan, A., Ankita, A., Baxter, S., Benedet, L., Li, Z., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R. M., Thorpe, K., Vadeboncoeur, C. M., et al. (2021) · Journal of Palliative Care · doi:10.1177/0825859720984564 · Cited by 31
Lavers, G., Andriessen, K., & Krysinska, K. E. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19095181 · Cited by 31
“) However, there is a similar preponderance of female caregivers in the context of other medical conditions or disabilities, such as elderly people suffering from dementia or other physical conditions, and this possibly reflects traditional societal gender roles [40].”
BackgroundOh, J., & Kim, J. A. (2017) · Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration · doi:10.1080/21678421.2017.1385636 · Cited by 27
“It might also be because male caregivers usually have more social activities, so they spend less time with the patient (43); a previous study has reported that family caregivers felt guilty when they left the patient with someone unfamiliar with the necessary care (36).”
BackgroundImpact of Caregiving for Dementia Patients on Healthcare Utilization of Caregivers
Rahman, A., Anjum, R., & Sahakian, Y. (2019) · Pharmacy · doi:10.3390/pharmacy7040138 · Cited by 26
“This finding is in line with other findings where women are often the primary caregivers [6,26,27].”
ResultCampos, L., Cardoso, C. M., & Teixeira, J. M. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16193530 · Cited by 30
“Research has begun to highlight the relevance of the evaluation process and of coping as being crucial to explain the variability in the experience of caregiving [5,25,28–30], the exploration of positive dimensions of caregiving [22,25,31–33], the impact of gender on caregiving [34], the relationship between demograph…”
BackgroundBreast cancer patient experiences of perioperative distress and anxiety: A qualitative study
Grocott, B. B., Reynolds, K., Logan, G. S., Hebbard, P. C., & El-Gabalawy, R. M. (2023) · European Journal of Oncology Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2023.102299 · Cited by 26
Xiong, C., D’Souza, A., Richandi, G. E.-K., Mihailidis, A., Cameron, J. I., Astell, A. J., Nalder, E. J., & Colantonio, A. (2020) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/19967 · Cited by 28
“The sex and gender gap in general technologies has been extensively studied [27,28]; however, the lack of research on technology perception among informal caregivers still exists despite considerable sex and gender differences with respect to well-being as well as psychosocial and overall health [29-32].”
BackgroundTian, S., Xu, L., & Wu, X. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18115790 · Cited by 25
Employment adjustment and mental health of employed family caregivers in Canada
Li, L., & Lee, Y. (2019) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2019.1647136 · Cited by 27
Agyemang‐Duah, W., Abdullah, A., Mensah, C. M., Arthur-Holmes, F., & Addai, B. (2019) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1007/s10389-019-01082-4 · Cited by 24
“…Kumasi, Ghana 3 Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Private Mail Bag, University Post Office, Kumasi, Ghana 4 Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK number of older persons (Sharma et al. 2016).”
BackgroundSpanish radiographers’ concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic
Ruiz, C., Llopis, D., Roman, A., Alfayate, E., & Herrera‐Peco, I. (2020) · Radiography · doi:10.1016/j.radi.2020.10.001 · Cited by 26
Rodríguez-Sánchez, B., Aranda-Reneo, I., Oliva, J., & López‐Bastida, J. (2021) · ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research · doi:10.2147/ceor.s301589 · Cited by 23
The Effectiveness of Social Media in the Dissemination of Knowledge About Pain in Dementia
Castillo, L. I. R., Hadjistavropoulos, T., & Brachaniec, M. (2021) · Pain Medicine · doi:10.1093/pm/pnab157 · Cited by 24
“However, the gender differences in our results are not surprising given that most informal caregivers tend to be women [52,53].”
BackgroundSelf-care interventions for women’s health and well-being
Narasimhan, M., Hargreaves, J., Logie, C. H., Karim, Q. A., Aujla, M., Hopkins, J., Cover, J., Sentumbwe-Mugisa, O., Maleche, A. A., & Gilmore, K. (2024) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-024-02844-8 · Cited by 29
“The societal pressures to take on this role can nevertheless affect women’s own ability to self-care and can cause mental and physical strain 98 .”
Tan, K. P., Ang, J. K., Koh, E. B. Y., Pang, N. T. P., & Mat Saher, Z. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20054232 · Cited by 23
Sex and Gender Related Differences in Diabetic Kidney Disease
Sridhar, V. S., Yau, K., Benham, J. L., Campbell, D. J. T., & Cherney, D. Z. I. (2022) · Seminars in Nephrology · doi:10.1016/j.semnephrol.2022.04.007 · Cited by 23
The impact of sex and gender on burden for caregivers of stroke patients: A narrative review
Comer, A. R., Roeder, H. J., Jones, A., Jawed, A., & Kramer, N. M. (2024) · Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases · doi:10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2024.107854 · Cited by 23
Delfino, L. L., Komatsu, R. S., Komatsu, C., Neri, A. L., & Cachioni, M. (2018) · Geriatrics and gerontology international/Geriatrics & gerontology international · doi:10.1111/ggi.13437 · Cited by 23
Associations Between Informal Caregivers’ Burden and Educational Level
Oedekoven, M., Kotb, K. A., Gellert, P. R., Balke, K., Kuhlmey, A., & Schnitzer, S. (2019) · GeroPsych · doi:10.1024/1662-9647/a000199 · Cited by 23
The Cost of Caring: Compassion Fatigue among Peer Overdose Response Workers in British Columbia
Mamdani, Z., McKenzie, S., Ackermann, E., Voyer, R., Cameron, F., Scott, T. L., Pauly, B., & Buxton, J. A. (2022) · Substance Use & Misuse · doi:10.1080/10826084.2022.2148481 · Cited by 23
Diriba, D. C., Leung, D. Y. P., & Suen, L. K. P. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-48049-w · Cited by 22
“Females provide better informal care for people with chronic illnesses 45 .”
BackgroundMilić, J., Vučurović, M., Grego, E., Jovic, D. P., Šapić, R., Jović, S., & Jovanović, V. (2025) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm14113621 · Cited by 23
“In many settings, this disproportionate caregiving burden intersects with personal grief, compounding emotional strain [52].”
InfluentialMauldin, L., & Saxena, M. (2017) · Journal of Family Issues · doi:10.1177/0192513x17746452 · Cited by 28
Agyemang‐Duah, W., Mensah, C. M., Peprah, P., Arthur-Holmes, F., Addai, B., & Abalo, E. M. (2018) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1007/s10389-018-0953-1 · Cited by 22
“In this study, these included a lack of or inadequate financial resources stemming from the limited time for economic activity, enormous stress, low support from other family members, inability to work effectively, limited time for social activities, and other emotional and psychological trauma (Sharma et al. 2016; St…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialGender impact of caring on the health of caregivers of persons with dementia
Martinez‐Santos, A., Facal-Mayo, D., Vicho‐de‐la‐Fuente, N., Vilanova‐Trillo, L., Gandoy‐Crego, M., & Rodríguez‐González, R. (2021) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2021.02.017 · Cited by 23
COVID-19 and Gender Disparities in Pediatric Cardiologists with Dependent Care Responsibilities
Ferns, S. J., Gautam, S., & Hudak, M. L. (2021) · The American Journal of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2021.02.017 · Cited by 22
“5 (5-50) 15 (5-50) Took Leave from Work or Quit Work Yes 24 6 (5.”
de Jong, L., Stahmeyer, J. T., Eberhard, S., Zeidler, J., & Damm, K. (2021) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-021-02149-2 · Cited by 22
“With regard to expecting the support of one’s daughters, Sharma, Chakrabarti and Grover (2016) as well as Six, Musomi and Deschepper (2019) have reported similar results, still suggesting a traditional role for women to take care of their older relatives [37, 38].”
Swinkels, J. C., van Tilburg, T. G., & Groenou, M. I. B. V. (2021) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/hsc.13497 · Cited by 22
Papadopoulos, A. A., Tafiadis, D., Tsapara, A., Skapinakis, P., Tzoufi, M. S., & Siafaka, V. (2022) · BJPsych Open · doi:10.1192/bjo.2021.1083 · Cited by 25
Chukwu, N. E., Agwu, P., Ajibo, H. T., & Aronu, N. I. (2022) · Journal of Social Work · doi:10.1177/14680173221077371 · Cited by 25
“As revealed in literature (Hu et al., 2016; Sharma et al., 2016) females comprised the bulk of informal caregivers in our study and their gender roles in home keeping exceptionally played out either in providing succour for the patients or severely affected by taking care of the patients.”
Zhao, X., Zhang, Q., Ji, Y., Liu, H., & LOU, V. W. Q. (2022) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2022.2089630 · Cited by 28
“Although women typically assume the caregiver role, there has been a rising proportion of male caregivers in recent years (Mott et al., 2019; Sharma et al., 2016).”
Albani, E. N., Toska, A. G., Togas, C., Rigatos, S., Вус, В., Fradelos, Ε. C., Tzenalis, A., & Saridi, M. (2024) · Nursing Reports · doi:10.3390/nursrep14030122 · Cited by 22
“It has been suggested that there are several societal and cultural demands on women to adopt the role of a family caregiver [42].”
BackgroundGrootscholten, I. A. C., van Wijngaarden, B., & Kan, C. C. (2018) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3445-1 · Cited by 23
“Other research is inconclusive in regard to the question whether gender is associated with the amount of caregiver distress (Sharma et al. 2016; Baronet 1999).”
ResultNuwara, A. S., Masa’Deh, R., Hamdan‐Mansour, A. M., & Qhah, I. K. (2019) · Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services · doi:10.3928/02793695-20190405-01 · Cited by 22
Carmassi, C., Corsi, M., Bertelloni, C. A., Pedrinelli, V., Massimetti, G., Peroni, D. G., Bonuccelli, A., Orsini, A. A., & Dell’Osso, L. (2020) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2020.06.021 · Cited by 22
Ismail, Y. A., Auf, H. A., Sadik, S. A., Ahmed, N. M., & Ali, Y. (2025) · BMC Neurology · doi:10.1186/s12883-025-04190-9 · Cited by 20
“The NACC cohort may be subject to sampling biases, as women are often more likely to participate in studies, potentially due to caregiving roles or other factors [26].”
Li, L., Lee, Y., & Lai, D. W. L. (2022) · The International Journal of Aging and Human Development · doi:10.1177/00914150221077948 · Cited by 21
“The demand for family caregiving has increased as the population ages, and in Canada, the percentage of women who are caring for family members or friends has been as high as 81% (Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundUnderstanding the nurse-patient relationship: A predictive approach to caring interaction
Allande‐Cussó, R., Fernández‐García, E., Gómez-Salgado, J. C., & Pórcel‐Gálvez, A. M. (2022) · Collegian Journal of the Royal College of Nursing Australia · doi:10.1016/j.colegn.2022.04.003 · Cited by 21
Yang, Q., & Jia, J. (2022) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-022-03529-y · Cited by 21
“However, some longitudinal-sectional studies found that informal caregiving, in terms of looking after someone, could be beneficial for cognitive function, at least for female caregivers [9, 10].”
BackgroundSix, S., Musomi, S., & Deschepper, R. (2018) · Journal of Transcultural Nursing · doi:10.1177/1043659618784358 · Cited by 21
de Graaff, M., van der Heide, I., Rademakers, J. J. D. J. M., van Valkengoed, I. G. M., Francke, A. L., Woonink, A., & Bijnsdorp, F. M. (2025) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-025-05795-y · Cited by 20
“Overall, our study’s findings align with previous literature that also found a greater care burden among female caregivers of people with dementia [8, 10, 18, 24].”
Kostyál, L. Á., Széman, Z., Almási, V. E., Fabbietti, P., Quattrini, S., Socci, M., Lamura, G., & Gagliardi, C. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13137107 · Cited by 20
Marín-Maicas, P., Corchón, S., Ambrosio, L., & Portillo, M. C. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18147294 · Cited by 23
“Women are the main caregivers in the family, providing the majority of care [66,67] (i.”
BackgroundPsychosocial and financial impacts for carers of those with eating disorders in New Zealand
Surgenor, L. J., Dhakal, S., Watterson, R., Lim, B., Kennedy, M. A., Bulik, C. M., Wilson, N., Keelan, K., Lawson, R., & Jordan, J. (2022) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/s40337-022-00565-2 · Cited by 20
“However, meta-analyses have produced mixed findings [10] about additional impacts for women, suggesting that there are nuanced factors still to be explored.”
BackgroundAsuquo, E. F., & Akpan‐Idiok, P. A. (2020) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.93670 · Cited by 20
Daughters and daughters-in-law providing elderly care: a qualitative study from Karachi, Pakistan
Shekhani, S. S. (2024) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-024-05295-5 · Cited by 24
“However, sociological explanations also assert that such views may be ingrained in females through social and cultural expectations, a value that is inculcated in their upbringing [40].”
BackgroundFinancial health and well-being of rural female caregivers of older adults with chronic illnesses
Lalani, N. S., Osei, E. A., Yang, S., Katare, B., & Wagle, S. (2025) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-025-05853-5 · Cited by 19
“It is often the women who take the major responsibility of caregiving and tend to sacrifice their careers, jobs and aspirations to care for their older family members, including parents, siblings or spouses with any illness or disability [26].”
Crimi, C., & Carlucci, A. (2020) · Pulmonology · doi:10.1016/j.pulmoe.2020.09.004 · Cited by 19
“On the other hand, life outside work has been incredibly demanding, especially for female workers, since women predominately assume the role of family caregiver.(11) Pandemic lockdowns and restrictions disproportionately impacted female workforces, especially those who also have domestic responsibilities and caregivin…”
BackgroundBecoming an older caregiver: A study of gender differences in family caregiving at the end of life
Spatuzzi, R., Giulietti, M. V., Romito, F., Reggiardo, G., Genovese, C., Passarella, M., Raucci, L., Ricciuti, M., Merico, F., Rosati, G., et al. (2021) · Palliative & Supportive Care · doi:10.1017/s1478951521000274 · Cited by 22
“Nevertheless, more women are increasingly engaged in work than in the past, and this has led to the need for a greater involvement of men in welfare activities, especially in smaller families (Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundBorg, C., COVCARE Group, Rouch, I., Pongan, É., Getenet, J. C., Bachelet, R., Herrmann, M., Bohec, A.-L., Laurent, B., Rey, R., et al. (2021) · Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · doi:10.3233/jad-210079 · Cited by 17
“In line with previous reports [20], female gender can be identified as a risk factor for higher caregivers’ anxiety, depression, stress or burden.”
Scherer, N., Mactaggart, I., Huggett, C., Pheng, P., Rahman, M.-U., & Wilbur, J. (2021) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046112 · Cited by 23
Assessing Perception of Wildfires and Related Impacts among Adult Residents of Southern California
Masri, S., Shenoi, E. A., Garfin, D. R., & Wu, J. Y. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20010815 · Cited by 21
“Alternatively, or in addition, this may reflect the increased tendency of females to be employed in the healthcare sector (therefore being more aware of related health risks) and/or to be more involved in the at-home caretaking of vulnerable children and elderly (therefore being more concerned with related wildfire/sm…”
BackgroundMultiple socioeconomic risks and cognitive impairment among older men and women in India
Muhammad, T., Pai, M., Kumar, M., & Sekher, T. V. (2023) · Dialogues in Health · doi:10.1016/j.dialog.2023.100119 · Cited by 22
“Not to mention, most women continue to do the bulk of kin-keeping, including offering emotional and instrumental support for adult offsprings [87,88].”
BackgroundPonsoda, J. M., Beleña, M. Á., & Díaz, A. (2023) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare11233084 · Cited by 19
“Finally, gender differences could be explained by other mediating variables such as age, marital status, socioeconomic level, education, culture, or aspects related to the care recipient, such as relationship or the stage of AD [21].”
BackgroundFernández, M. B., & Lay, S. L. (2018) · Journal of Women & Aging · doi:10.1080/08952841.2018.1537690 · Cited by 19
“That is how caregiving of aging relatives, especially elderly parents, ends up being a function mostly assumed by women, something evidenced in many studies (Cheix, Herrera, Fernández, & Barros, 2015; Fernández & Herrera, 2015; Johnson & Lo Sasso, 2006; Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundDerreberry, T. M., & Holroyd, S. (2019) · Medical Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2019.02.004 · Cited by 19
Hoopsick, R. A., Homish, D. L., Vest, B. M., & Homish, G. G. (2018) · Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1111/acer.13901 · Cited by 19
Gender Differences in Caregiver Burden Among Family Caregivers of Persons With Dementia
Lee, K., Yefimova, M., Puga, F., & Pickering, C. E. Z. (2021) · Journal of Gerontological Nursing · doi:10.3928/00989134-20210610-03 · Cited by 18
Ma, L., & Gu, D. (2022) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2022.2039097 · Cited by 18
“Compared with older women, older men are less likely to be care providers (Sharma et al., 2016); instead, they often receive care and companion from their wives.”
BackgroundAljuaid, M. M., Ilyas, N., Altuwaijri, E. A., Albedawi, H., Alanazi, O., Shahid, D., & Alonazi, W. B. (2022) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare10030523 · Cited by 18
“Results from our study contradict what is found in the literature of varying estimates across different countries where the female gender predominates caregiving, as 57–81% of caregivers of chronic patients are females [42].”
ResultGovil, D., Sahoo, H., Chowdhury, B., & James, K. S. (2024) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-024-04782-z · Cited by 18
“Caregiving is generally central to the identity of women due to their socialization into nurturing roles [5].”
BackgroundHuertas‐Domingo, C., Márquez‐González, M., Cabrera, I., Barrera‐Caballero, S., Pedroso‐Chaparro, M. D. S., Romero‐Moreno, R., & Losada‐Baltar, A. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18094700 · Cited by 19
“) makes them more likely to experience the adverse consequences of caregiving [15].”
BackgroundHitzig, S. L., Cimino, S. R., Alavinia, M., Bassett-Gunter, R. L., Craven, B. C., & Guilcher, S. J. T. (2021) · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2021.03.030 · Cited by 19
Exavery, A., Charles, J., Kuhlik, E., Barankena, A., Koler, A. E., Kikoyo, L., & Jere, E. (2020) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-020-05102-y · Cited by 18
Shadow and extended shadow cost sharing associated to informal long-term care: the case of Spain
Rubio, R. D. P., Martínez, P. M., Ortega‐Ortega, M., & Oliva-Moreno, J. (2020) · Health Economics Review · doi:10.1186/s13561-020-00272-1 · Cited by 20
Dementia caregivers training needs and preferences for online interventions: A mixed‐methods study
Teles, S., Paúl, C., Sosa‐Napolskij, M., & Ferreira, A. (2020) · Journal of Clinical Nursing · doi:10.1111/jocn.15445 · Cited by 17
Stratmann, M., Forsell, Y., Möller, J., & Liang, Y. (2021) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11246-1 · Cited by 22
“Generally, informal care is mostly provided by women, although the proportion of men has been increasing in the last years [2, 21, 22].”
BackgroundUnpaid caregiving and stress among older working-age men and women in Sweden
Stanfors, M., & Jacobs, J. (2023) · SSM - Population Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101458 · Cited by 17
“, personal care) than men (Sharma et al., 2016) or due to a higher propensity for women to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously, which can result in increased stress (Zaiceva, 2022).”
BackgroundResultYun, Y. S., Jaapar, S. Z. S., Fadzil, N. A., & Kueh, Y. C. (2018) · Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences · doi:10.21315/mjms2018.25.6.13 · Cited by 17
Knowledge and Attitudes Towards People with Dementia among General Population in Yogyakarta
Mulyani, S., Artanti, E. R., & Saifullah, A. D. (2019) · International Conference on Sustainable Innovation – Social, Humanity, and Education (ICoSIHESS) · doi:10.2991/icosihsn-19.2019.50 · Cited by 16
“roles at home because they have a greater family responsibility than men so that it can cause them to spend time on caregiving [31].”
BackgroundSukartini, T., Nursalam, N., & Arifin, H. (2021) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/hsc.13318 · Cited by 17
Wiśniewski, P., Linton, C., Chokshi, A., Perlingieri, B., Gurupur, V. P., & Gabriel, M. H. (2018) · Advances in intelligent systems and computing · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-94947-5_81 · Cited by 16
Grover, S., Sahoo, S., Chaudhary, S., Chakrabarti, S., Nehra, R., & Avasthi, A. (2018) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.156 · Cited by 16
Self-citationPeacock, S., Bayly, M. K., Duggleby, W., Ploeg, J., Pollard, L., Swindle, J., Lee, H., Williams, A., Markle‐Reid, M., & McAiney, C. A. (2020) · SAGE Open Nursing · doi:10.1177/2377960820974816 · Cited by 16
“Owing to the heavy responsibilities and perceptions of caregiving, women report significantly higher levels of strain, distress, and depression compared to men (Pillemer et al., 2017; Sharma et al., 2016), with wives emerging as the most vulnerable (Chappell et al., 2015).”
BackgroundAndréasson, F., Mattsson, T., & Hanson, E. J. (2021) · Journal of Family Studies · doi:10.1080/13229400.2021.1980421 · Cited by 16
“…the duration, amount, and type of care on the depressive symptoms of spousal caregivers over a two-year period, concluding a need to further incorporate couples’ relational dynamics and gendered experiences in personal care (see also Penning & Wu, 2016; Litwin et al., 2014; Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundNoriega, C., Velasco, C., Pérez-Rojo, G., & López, J. (2022) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-021-02187-9 · Cited by 17
“This difference may be related to traditional gender roles, in which women are expected to perform a caregiver role (Sharma et al., 2016; Troll 1983).”
BackgroundThe weight of waiting: the impact of delayed early intervention on parental self‐efficacy
Murphy, K., & Harrison, E. (2022) · British Journal of Special Education · doi:10.1111/1467-8578.12381 · Cited by 16
Vulnerability and the Ethics of Human Germline Genome Editing
Labude, M. K., Xafis, V., Lai, P. S., & Mills, C. (2022) · The CRISPR Journal · doi:10.1089/crispr.2021.0053 · Cited by 16
“This will be particularly true in societies where the burdens of informal care continue to be distributed unevenly in families, with women disproportionately providing care, including for children with disabilities.(37,38) In such cases, we may conject that if HHGE has unintended effects that ultimately cause disabili…”
BackgroundMelchiorre, M. G., D’Amen, B., Quattrini, S., Lamura, G., & Socci, M. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19127413 · Cited by 16
Skamagki, G., Carpenter, C., King, A., & Wåhlin, C. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19159348 · Cited by 16
Unpaid care work among women in South Asia: A systematic review
Tripathi, S., Azhar, S., & Zhai, F. (2022) · Asian Social Work and Policy Review · doi:10.1111/aswp.12268 · Cited by 16
Bérubé, A., Tapp, D., Dupéré, S., Plaisance, A., Bravo, G., Downar, J., & Couture, V. (2022) · Journal of Palliative Care · doi:10.1177/08258597221131658 · Cited by 16
“49 Moreover, women are the predominant formal and informal caregivers for seriously ill and dying persons, 50,51 and are more likely to be aware of palliative options and more likely to choose palliative care over curative treatments at the EOL.”
Li, W., Manuel, D. G., Isenberg, S. R., & Tanuseputro, P. (2022) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-022-03583-6 · Cited by 16
“Due to widowhood and social expectations, women receive less unpaid care but are often expected to undertake greater caregiving responsibilities, even when they themselves require care [4, 13].”
BackgroundMohammed, R. S., Boateng, E. A., Amponsah, A. K., Kyei‐Dompim, J., & Laari, T. T. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0284436 · Cited by 16
“Although the repercussions of SCI affect the entire family, usually one individual in the family assumes the primary caregiver role [19].”
BackgroundUribe, F. L., Gräske, J., Grill, S., Heinrich, S., Schäfer‐Walkmann, S., Thyrian, J. R., & Holle, B. (2017) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610217000126 · Cited by 16
“found that the results on gender differences in caregiving burden are inconclusive (Sharma et al., 2016), confirming earlier reviews (Etters et al.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSilverman, M., Brotman, S., Molgat, M., & Gagnon, E. (2020) · International Journal of Care and Caring · doi:10.1332/239788220x15859363711424 · Cited by 16
Barrachina, J., Margarit, C., Muriel, J., López-Gil, S., López-Gil, V., Vara-González, A., Planelles, B., Inda, M., Morales, D., & Peiró, A. M. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-13085-5 · Cited by 18
Support groups for Alzheimer’s caregivers: Creating our own space in uncertain times
Simpson, G. M., Stansbury, K. L., Wilks, S. E., Pressley, T. D., Parker, M., & McDougall, G. J. (2017) · Social Work in Mental Health · doi:10.1080/15332985.2017.1395780 · Cited by 16
“…those with dementia or physical illnesses have been found to exist in several areas including time spent on caregiving; the duration of caregiving; types of tasks; role-strain and role-conflict; caregiver-burden; satisfaction with caregiving; and reasons for providing care (Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundStructuring unequal relations: role trajectories in informal dementia care
Fletcher, J. R. (2020) · Sociology of Health & Illness · doi:10.1111/1467-9566.13194 · Cited by 16
Violence and Discrimination against Women of Religious Minority Backgrounds in Pakistan
Tadros, M. (2020) · doi:10.19088/creid.2020.003 · Cited by 16
“However, women are more stressed, and feel greater strain, burden, and distress than men (Sharma et al. 2016).”
Backgroundda Costa, S., Martínez‐Moreno, E., Gorriti, V. D., Hermosilla, D., Amutio, A., Padoan, S., Méndez, D., Etchebehere, G., Torres, A., Telletxea, S., et al. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.604412 · Cited by 23
Metadata
- Authors
- Sharma, N., Chakrabarti, S., & Grover, S.
- Affiliations
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Chakrabarti, Subho
- Venue
- World Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
- Published
- 2016
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 7
- ISSN
- 2220-3206 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4804270
- OpenAlex
- W2311849209
- Cited by
- 865
- References
- 123
- Citations by year
- 2026: 119 · 2025: 138 · 2024: 121 · 2023: 100 · 2022: 104 · 2021: 112 · 2020: 73 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 31 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 43.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- World Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family Caregiving in Mental Illness
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Research and Theory › Nursing care and research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
- Keywords
- gender differences, family caregivers, mental illness, informal care, caregiver burden, psychological distress, caregiving stress, stress coping, schizophrenia, mood disorders, role expectations, social support, response bias
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
