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 401–500 of 864
Bonilla‐Santos, J., Garavito, L. N. C., Cala-Martínez, D. Y., & González‐Hernández, A. (2021) · Medicina de Familia SEMERGEN · doi:10.1016/j.semerg.2021.07.003 · Cited by 4
The Influence of Race and Gender on Receiving Assistance With Daily Activities Among Older Americans
Fabius, C. D., Parker, L. J., & Thorpe, R. J. (2021) · Innovation in Aging · doi:10.1093/geroni/igab060 · Cited by 4
“For example, the provision of care may vary for women, who, as a result of societal expectations, are more often primary caregivers for partners and family members (American Association of Retired Persons, 2020; Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundFathers’ experiences of caring for an adult child with psychosis: a qualitative study
Sharma, B., Green, N. H., & Keville, S. (2020) · Psychosis · doi:10.1080/17522439.2019.1704044 · Cited by 4
Changes over time in family members of adults with mild traumatic brain injury
Jones, K., Theadom, A., Prah, P., Starkey, N. J., Barker-Collo, S. L., Ameratunga, S. N., Feigin, V. L., & Study, F. T. B. (2019) · Brain Impairment · doi:10.1017/brimp.2019.27 · Cited by 4
“Furthermore, as concluded by the authors of a recent review of sex differences among caregivers of family members with mental illness (Sharma et al., 2016), the experiences of male caregivers have not been adequately explored.”
BackgroundInformation and genetic counselling for psychiatric risks in children with rare genomic disordersPreprint
Cuthbert, A., Challenger, A., Hall, J., & van den Bree, M. B. M. (2019) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/19007294 · Cited by 4
Dang, S., Looijmans, A., Sharma, N., Jansen, A. B., & Hagedoorn, M. (2024) · BMC Digital Health · doi:10.1186/s44247-023-00057-6 · Cited by 3
“12 out of 13 participants in our study were females, which can limit the generalizability of our results as female and male ICGs may experience caregiving differently [62, 63].”
ResultSelf-citationSidamo, N. B., Hussen, S., Kassahun, A. B., & Oumer, B. (2025) · Frontiers in Tropical Diseases · doi:10.3389/fitd.2025.1475955 · Cited by 3
Khawar, R., Razzaq, M., Hussain, S., Dogar, I. A., Butt, A., Amin, R., Akram, B., Ahmad, H., Aslam, M., & Zafar, R. (2025) · Mental Illness · doi:10.1155/mij/2993852 · Cited by 3
“Among family care-givers, multiple researches have described that women tend to rely more on emotion-focused coping and other less e ff ective strategies, such as fantasy, hopeful thinking, dis-avowal, escape, or avoidance, compared to men [81].”
Fatima, N., & Rizvi, A. (2025) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.89695 · Cited by 3
Cichoń, J., Homa, M., Płaszewska‐Żywko, L., & Kózka, M. (2025) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm14176294 · Cited by 4
“The review revealed that the majority of caregivers for individuals receiving home mechanical ventilation (HMV) are women, consistent with the existing literature on the global caregiving of individuals with chronic illnesses and disabilities [47].”
Miranda, M., Faùndes, V., Alliende, M. A., & María, L. S. (2025) · Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases · doi:10.1186/s13023-025-04019-1 · Cited by 3
“Because of the gender gap, women are more likely to provide more personal and instrumental support [42–44] and spend more time on caregiving than men [45], with consequences for their physical and mental health and social involvement [40, 41, 44–46].”
Epidemiological and economic burden of dementia in the Middle East and North African region
Qadi, N., Alkhodair, Y., Alshammari, W., & AlDakheel, A. (2025) · Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · doi:10.1177/13872877251378454 · Cited by 3
Bhosale, M. M., Prabhakaran, A., & Rao, A. P. (2025) · BMC Women s Health · doi:10.1186/s12905-025-04029-y · Cited by 3
“In the broader socio-cultural context of India, caregiving responsibilities, especially menstrual management, are traditionally considered as the tasks of women [18, 19].”
Leung, W.-Y., Li, S., Yu, P. H., & Chan, S. (2025) · Foods · doi:10.3390/foods14244212 · Cited by 3
“Research conducted across different countries found that women predominated among the caregivers of the elderly, accounting for 57% to 81% of all the elderly’s caregivers [25,26].”
Family Caregiver Burden in Providing Home Healthcare for Migrant Older Adults: A Scoping Review
Al‐Hamad, A., Yasin, Y. M., Yasin, L., & Kumar, S. S. (2026) · Family Sciences · doi:10.3390/famsci2010002 · Cited by 3
“…contexts (Ahmad et al., 2019; Guo et al., 2019; Lillekroken et al., 2023; Shrestha et al., 2023; Ulusoy & Graessel, 2017), reflecting enduring cultural scripts that position care as a feminine moral duty that is congruent with prior analyses of the feminization of care work (Sharma et al., 2016).”
Liang, Q., Xu, M., Qiu, L., Liu, Y., Tian, Y., Zuo, X., Qin, F., Wang, Y., & Liu, Y. (2026) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-025-03040-w · Cited by 3
“The increased odds of anxiety among female ICs are consistent with trends observed for depression [ 42 , 43 , 49], while the association with CR symptom severity sug - gests that the unpredictability and intensity of psychiatric symptoms are major stressors.”
Luca, A., Piccoli, T., Tomaselli, A., Marco, S. D., Nicoletti, A. S. Q., Coco, D. L., Rolandi, E., Sensi, S. L., Sucapane, P., Bruni, A. C., et al. (2026) · Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · doi:10.1177/13872877261435213 · Cited by 3
“17 Furthermore, women caregivers are more likely to provide care for parents, siblings, relatives, and friends, whereas men caregivers more often care primarily for their spouse.”
Richter, S. M., Jarvis, K., Yakong, V. N., Aniteye, P., & Vallianatos, H. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17218127 · Cited by 3
“Several societal and cultural norms are pressuring elderly women to fulfill the role of caregivers in the family context [16].”
BackgroundCaring for parents with end‐stage renal disease: What do adult children face and how do they cope?
Sousa, H., Ribeiro, Ó. M., Christensen, A. J., & de Figueiredo, D. M. P. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Nursing · doi:10.1111/jocn.16172 · Cited by 3
Akande, O. W., Fasiku, M. M., Bolarinwa, O. A., & Akande, T. M. (2023) · Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal · doi:10.4103/npmj.npmj_15_23 · Cited by 3
Madsen, M., Campbell, M. A., Grabowski, D., Johannesen, J., & Jespersen, L. N. (2024) · Family Relations · doi:10.1111/fare.13004 · Cited by 3
Marega, J., & Bah, H. T. (2024) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-024-02634-0 · Cited by 4
“Sharma et al. [43] stated that globally, women are predominantly caregivers of relatives living with chronic medical conditions or disabilities, including aged individuals and adults with mental illnesses, and in some societies, cultural norms place the burden of caregiving on women.”
Informal caregiver burden among carers of bedridden elderly: a cross sectional study in North Kerala
Sajeev, A. V., & John, C. (2024) · International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health · doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20241838 · Cited by 3
Mastrogiannis, A. M., Steinway, C. M., Santos, T. C., Chen, J., Berens, J. C., Davis, T. W., Cornacchia, M., Woodward, J. F., Riddle, I. K., Spicer, B. L., et al. (2024) · Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities · doi:10.1111/jar.13289 · Cited by 3
Díaz-Jiménez, D., Ruiz, J. L. L., González-Lama, J., & Espinosa, Á. V. (2024) · Smart and Sustainable Built Environment · doi:10.1108/sasbe-03-2024-0091 · Cited by 3
Hofmann, L., Springer, A.-L., & Wagner, B. (2025) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-025-21594-x · Cited by 3
Bai, X., Zhou, J., Hu, B., & Shum, D. (2025) · Journal of Gerontological Social Work · doi:10.1080/01634372.2025.2471994 · Cited by 3
“The gender-specific pattern observed in our study might be attributed to the societal gender role expectations that emphasis women’s roles in caregiving and housework responsibilities (Bronstein, 2006; Sharma et al., 2016).”
The needs of family members caring for people living with mental illness: An integrated review
Sakwape, K., Kovane, G. P., Chukwuere, P. C., Moagi, M. M., & Machailo, R. M. (2025) · Health SA Gesondheid · doi:10.4102/hsag.v30i0.2901 · Cited by 5
“Relational, social and emotional connectedness of family members towards their relatives and a sense of family obligation is the foundation of their nurturing attitude towards caregiving (Sharma, Chakrabarti & Grover 2016:10).”
Selçuk, M. (2025) · Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology · doi:10.5152/pcp.2025.24935 · Cited by 5
“35 Studies consistently show that mothers of children with ADHD experience greater financial difficulties and utilize healthcare services more frequently than fathers.”
Saitos, P., Iurcov, R. O. C., Moca, A. E., Bota, T., Marton, R. D., & Juncar, M. (2025) · Children · doi:10.3390/children12050655 · Cited by 3
“While motherhood can be deeply rewarding, it is also associated with increased mental and physical strain, a greater caregiver burden, and higher levels of psychological distress [57,58].”
Factors Influencing Psychological Distress in Caregivers of People with Dementia
Umpimai, N., Sangon, S., & Nintachan, P. (2025) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare13131582 · Cited by 4
“Female caregivers are more likely to provide assistance with personal care, such as bathing, than male caregivers, and female caregivers often have to play multiple roles, such as a wife and mother, which can lead to role stress [39].”
Sharma, P., Jayaprakasan, A. K., Rao, S., Bachawandia, H., Surender, Sharma, G., Verma, G., Rawat, J., Kumari, R., Apurva, A., et al. (2025) · Palliative Care and Social Practice · doi:10.1177/26323524251368907 · Cited by 3
“9,27,28 Most caregivers were also unemployed (83.33%).”
InfluentialSelf-citationMonteiro, C. R. D. A., Schoueri, J. H. M., de Camargo, C. R. S., Sato, L. S., Monteiro, Y. P., Passarela, K., Shimaoka, G. A., Oliveira, R. D. C., Argani, I. L., Sette, C. V. D. M., et al. (2018) · Clinical Oncology Letters · doi:10.4322/col.2018.003 · Cited by 2
Elsayed, Y. A. R., Sabry, W., Hendawy, H., Hegazy, D., Soultan, M., & Banna, M. E. (2019) · Middle East Current Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s43045-019-0006-7 · Cited by 3
Wilfong, J. M., Perruccio, A. V., Millstone, D. B., & Badley, E. M. (2020) · Arthritis Care & Research · doi:10.1002/acr.24329 · Cited by 3
“viders of informal care compared to men (4,14).”
BackgroundInfluentialProlonged Physical Inactivity in Older Adult Couples: A Dyadic Analysis Using Actigraphy
Wu, C., Miller, L. M., Wall, R. N., Beattie, Z., Silbert, L. C., & Kaye, J. A. (2020) · Innovation in Aging · doi:10.1093/geroni/igaa066 · Cited by 3
Drummond, M., Johnston, B. M., & Quinn, T. J. (2021) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/hsc.13463 · Cited by 3
“…of life and living with life-limiting conditions and mental illness identified that the influence of caregiver sex on the risk of negative outcomes and consequences is often overlooked and misunderstood (Gardiner et al., 2020; Ghosh et al., 2020 ; Pinquart & Sorensen, 2006; Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundParental experiences of telerehabilitation for children with special needs
Hameed, N., Satheesan, S. C., & Santhamma, J. P. (2021) · Industrial Psychiatry Journal · doi:10.4103/ipj.ipj_235_20 · Cited by 3
“[7] Another important observation from the study is that there is a higher percentage of children with multiple disabilities.”
Dehumanization and burden of care among caregivers of terminally ill patients
Testoni, I., Sicari, G., Ronconi, L., Biancalani, G., Franco, C., Cottone, P., & Crupi, R. (2021) · Health Psychology Research · doi:10.52965/001c.29052 · Cited by 3
“Like a Pale Flower in a Dark Well”: Experiences of Women Whose Spouses Have Schizophrenia
Öztürk, G. K., & Çam, M. O. (2022) · Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services · doi:10.3928/02793695-20221027-02 · Cited by 3
Calixte, R., Helzner, E., Islam, S., Camacho‐Rivera, M., & Pati, S. (2022) · Children · doi:10.3390/children9121798 · Cited by 3
Old Age, Gender and Constructions of the Contemporary
Adiseshiah, S. (2023) · Journal of the British Academy · doi:10.5871/jba/011s2.033 · Cited by 3
Lloyd, S. L., Caban‐Holt, A., Starks, T. D., Clark, J. C., & Byrd, G. S. (2023) · Journal of Gerontological Social Work · doi:10.1080/01634372.2023.2244556 · Cited by 4
“While caregivers of PWD tend to be female (Brodaty & Donkin, 2009; Xiong et al., 2020), the number of males taking on the role of caregivers of PWD has increased in recent decades as more women are diagnosed with dementia than men (Beam et al., 2018; Mott et al., 2019; Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundBrady, S., Patskanick, T. R., & Coughlin, J. F. (2024) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbae042 · Cited by 3
Suhaila, Z. S., & Lim, S. S. (2024) · Palgrave studies in equity, diversity, inclusion, and indigenization in business · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-52795-1_5 · Cited by 3
Help Seeking Among Male Farmers and their Female Partners: A Qualitative Exploration
Carswell, E., McLaughlin, M., & Cassidy, T. (2024) · Journal of Behavioral Health and Psychology · doi:10.33425/2832-4579/24066 · Cited by 3
“The burden of care-giving seems to be often ascribed to the role of the wife in a relationship [34,35].”
BackgroundHayes, A., Courey, L., Kells, M., Hyndman, D., Dempsey, M., & Murphy, M. F. (2024) · Family Process · doi:10.1111/famp.13042 · Cited by 3
Marwi, A., Bali, I., ALMURASHI, A. M., Alharbi, E. H., Alnkhli, I. J., & Alqerafi, N. M. (2024) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.66427 · Cited by 3
“Further studies contrasted our findings by showing that female caregivers experience more stress and strain than male caregivers [13,17].”
ResultThe effects of progressive muscle relaxation exercise on dementia caregivers
Baykal, D., & Bılgıç, B. (2024) · Geriatric Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.07.035 · Cited by 4
Kalu, K., Shah, G. H., Ayangunna, E., Shah, B., & Marshall, N. A. (2024) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph21091219 · Cited by 3
“Many women have been known to be caregivers of their families, placing a significant burden on them that can contribute to psychological distress [67,68].”
BackgroundAbreu, T. C., Mackenbach, J. D., Beulens, J. W. J., Vaartjes, I. C. H., & Kawachi, I. I. (2024) · SSM - Population Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2024.101715 · Cited by 3
“Although there are widely known gender differences in health outcomes (Schutter et al., 2022b) and gender-patterned social roles in society (Gabriel et al., 1999; Sharma et al., 2016), potential gender-based differences in the role of social relations on health outcomes are still understudied.”
Ansari, Z., Rashmi, A. D., Pawar, S. R., Patil, A. D., & Sah, R. (2024) · Medicine · doi:10.1097/md.0000000000039994 · Cited by 3
“23] The current study depicted that the high degree of caregiver’s burden was present amongst the caregivers of the older age group.”
BackgroundPsychological conditions of caregivers of adult subjects with Prader-Willi syndrome
Usubini, A. G., Bondesan, A., Caroli, D., Frigerio, F., Grugni, G., Castelnuovo, G., & Sartório, A. (2024) · Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases · doi:10.1186/s13023-024-03385-6 · Cited by 4
“In addition, the study did not consider possible gender differences in coping strategies [33] given the imbalanced representation of the two genders in our study population.”
BackgroundMommersteeg, P. M. C., Kupper, N. H. M., Klinge, I. I., & van Valkengoed, I. G. M. (2025) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/13591053241306874 · Cited by 3
“A review on (informal) caregiving for people with mental disorders shows mixed findings, concluding that sex-differences may be small and unlikely to be of clinical significance (Sharma et al., 2016).”
Brady, S., Ashebir, S., D’Ambrosio, L. A., Balmuth, A., Felts, A., & Lee, C. (2025) · Research on Aging · doi:10.1177/01640275251334408 · Cited by 4
“…parent status (Lei et al., 2023), residential environment (Henning-Smith & Lahr, 2019), household income (Willert & Minnotte, 2021) and gender (Sharma et al., 2016; Willert & Minnotte, 2021), as well as variables indicating a respondent ’ s caregiving situation (whether or not respondent…”
Caregivers’ willingness to pay for Alzheimer’s disease medications in Taiwan
Huang, M., Tsai, C.-F., Lee, W., Wang, W.-F., Jhang, K.-M., Wang, S., & Fuh, J. (2021) · Journal of the Chinese Medical Association · doi:10.1097/jcma.0000000000000504 · Cited by 3
Clustering of Socioeconomic Data in Hong Kong for Planning Better Community Health Protection
Huang, Z., Chan, E. Y. Y., Wong, C. S., & Zee, B. C.-Y. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph182312617 · Cited by 3
“sex ratio (ratio of males to females) Chappell, Dujela, & Smith [11]; Sharma, Chakrabarti & Grover [12]”
BackgroundCorrelation between Fatique and Stress among Female in Caring for the Elderly at Hospitals
Tumanggor, R. D., Kasfi, A., Nurbaiti, N., & Nasution, D. L. (2021) · Jurnal Keperawatan Padjadjaran · doi:10.24198/jkp.v9i3.1669 · Cited by 5
Kłosińska, U., & Leszko, M. (2022) · Journal of Drug Issues · doi:10.1177/00220426221145019 · Cited by 3
“This is consistent with previous studies as, across the world, women are the predominant providers of informal care for older adults (Mucha, Leszko, & Potemkowski, 2021; Sharma, Chakrabarti, & Grover, 2016).”
ResultCoping Strategies and Resiliency of Informal Caregivers
Cordova, M. A., & Sia, A. D. (2020) · Philippine Social Science Journal · doi:10.52006/main.v2i2.79 · Cited by 3
“%) were females (Varona et al., 2007; Sharma et al., 2016; Alvarez et al., 2017; Kipp et al., 2007; Sequeira, 2013 &Qiu et al., 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialComfort Level in Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients and Affecting Factors: What Should We Know?
Kasar, K. S., Yıldırım, Y., & Bulut, Ü. (2021) · OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying · doi:10.1177/00302228211014779 · Cited by 3
“Socio-culturally, women are generally seen as primary caregivers and women see themselves as responsible for family care (Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundBurden and Coping Mechanisms among Caregiver for Old Adult with advanced illness.
Ahmed, N., Saif, M., & Hamedy, S. (2021) · NILES Journal forGeriatric and Gerontology/NILES Journal for Geriatric and Gerontology · doi:10.21608/niles.2021.175321 · Cited by 3
Quality Of Life Satisfaction Among Caregivers Of Schizophrenic Patients
Usman, R., Haider, A., Ramzan, Z., & Mansoori, S. (2021) · ANNALS OF ABBASI SHAHEED HOSPITAL AND KARACHI MEDICAL & DENTAL COLLEGE · doi:10.58397/ashkmdc.v26i2.466 · Cited by 3
“3) Marital Status (n=147) Single 23 (16) 6 (4.”
Missing piece: the imperative of gender-disaggregated data in unraveling health inequity
Shirzad, M., & Kaufman, M. R. (2025) · BMJ Global Health · doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2024-018266 · Cited by 3
Park, M. K., Cheon, J. H., & McPherson, R. (2023) · Journal of Social Service Research · doi:10.1080/01488376.2023.2226170 · Cited by 2
“Currently, women are primarily responsible for providing informal care for family members with chronic medical conditions, such as dementia (Sharma et al., 2016) and female caregivers report higher levels of depressive symptoms (Cuijpers, 2005; Gallicchio et al., 2002; Knight et al., 2007;…”
BackgroundHealth Related Quality of Life of Family Caregivers of Dependent Elderly
Aly, E. Z., Yousef, F. M. A., & elhameed, R. A. (2023) · Sohag Medical Journal · doi:10.21608/smj.2023.234839.1411 · Cited by 2
Johnson, K., Hartwig, K. A., Maisano, K., Crusan, A. C., Biggs, J., & DiSpirito, K. (2024) · Child Care Health and Development · doi:10.1111/cch.13232 · Cited by 2
Bremmers, L. G. M., Fabbricotti, I. N., Gräler, E. S., Groot, C. A. U., & Roijen, L. H. (2024) · Health Psychology Open · doi:10.1177/20551029241262883 · Cited by 4
“Gender is generally accepted as an important quality of life predictor, despite inconsistent documentation for informal caregivers of persons with mental disorders (Sharma et al., 2016).”
BackgroundAKÇAM, M., & Sarıkaya, N. A. (2025) · Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences · doi:10.1111/scs.13318 · Cited by 2
Self-care experiences of male spouses of people with dementia: a descriptive phenomenological study
Jung, S., & Song, J. (2025) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2025.2481968 · Cited by 2
“…to people with dementia due to traditional beliefs that caregiving is their responsibility, but men are increasingly becoming care-givers for family members with dementia, and they account for about 30% of family caregivers (Alzheimer’s Association, 2023; Sharma et al., 2016; Wimo et al., 2018).”
Mapping the gender gradient in posttraumatic stress disorder prevalence: A machine learning approach
Kimerling, R. E., Ward, R. N., Leder, S., Tamayo, G. C., & Lockett, M. (2025) · Journal of Traumatic Stress · doi:10.1002/jts.23153 · Cited by 2
“Female gender role socialization is consistent with parenting and other caregiving roles (Lee & Tang, 2015; Sharma et al., 2016), and women spend more time on unpaid care-giving tasks relative to men (García Román & Gracia, 2022; Sharma et al., 2016).”
RETRACTED: Family Members’ Perspectives on Mental Illness Stigma: A Community Study
Adu, J., Oudshoorn, A., Anderson, K. K., Marshall, C. A., Stuart, H. L., & Owusu, M. F. (2025) · Canadian Journal of Nursing Research · doi:10.1177/08445621251343167 · Cited by 3
RetractedWu, P., Dai, Y., Ruan, W., Xiao, Y., & Wu, J. (2025) · Communications in computer and information science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-94162-7_23 · Cited by 2
Hu, S., Yao, H., Li, K., Li, C., Wang, L., Shi, Y., Liu, H., Huang, Z., Zhang, F., Zhao, Y., et al. (2025) · Archives of Psychiatric Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2025.151929 · Cited by 2
Fenton, M. P., Swacil, K., Striley, C. W., Cottler, L. B., Eder, M., Cohen, I. P., & Lopez‐Quintero, C. (2025) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108356 · Cited by 2
Caregiving Network Characteristics and Mental Health Care Utilization by Older Adults
Wyman, M. F., Jacobs, J., Stalter, L. N., Venkatesh, M., TRIVEDI, R. B., & Byers, A. L. (2025) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/jgs.70082 · Cited by 2
“Further examination of facilitators and barriers to MH use is urgently needed, especially in light of the aging of the global population [8].”
Assessing Mental Health Literacy Among Undergraduate Nursing Students in South Africa
Peresu, E., Kigozi, G., & Engelbrecht, M. (2025) · Nursing Reports · doi:10.3390/nursrep15090337 · Cited by 2
“This pattern contributes to the broader understanding of gender differences in MHL. Previous research suggests that women traditionally assume caregiving roles [39], which may increase their engagement with health information.”
Cobbinah, J. E., & Yamoah, M. (2025) · Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education · doi:10.1080/10901027.2025.2582171 · Cited by 2
Adaptation and validation of the Chinese version of the Fear of Alzheimer’s Disease Scale
Lin, R. S. Y., Su, J. J., Chan, T. W., & Kwan, R. Y. C. (2025) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2025.2585493 · Cited by 2
“This may reflect both traditional cultural expectations, where women are commonly regarded as primary caregivers (Huang et al., 2022, Sharma et al., 2016), and sex-specific patterns in neurocognitive functioning reported in neurodegenerative disease populations (Chen et al., 2021).”
Tejakum, W., Truesdale, M., Melville, C. A., & Cairns, D. (2025) · Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities · doi:10.1111/jar.70165 · Cited by 2
Sacchetti, A., Berube, M., Pison, C. M., Gagnon, M., & Bellier, A. (2026) · European Journal of General Practice · doi:10.1080/13814788.2026.2613495 · Cited by 3
“…being female and caring for vulnerable peoples, in accordance with previous research highlighting gendered patterns in caregiving professions and activities [65,66]. this is particularly relevant given that nursing remains predominantly female, with 92% of the canadian workforce being women [67].”
The unheard path: carer loneliness and epistemic injustice in critical and historical view
Cooper, F. (2026) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-026-07113-2 · Cited by 2
“Carers are not, of course, a homogeneous group, and are subject to a raft of intersecting injustices and abandonments along lines of race, class, health, disability, sexuality, and particularly — as the majority of carers are women — gender (Greenwood et al. 2015; Sharma et al. 2016).”
Dutchak, O., Fedyuk, O., & Oksiutovych, A. (2026) · Social Inclusion · doi:10.17645/si.12060 · Cited by 2
“Gender inequality in the distribution of care responsibilities is well documented, including recently in Ukraine (Strelnyk, 2026), as mentioned above, and women represent between 57% and 81% of in‐family carers, depending on the country (Sharma et al., 2016).”
Knight, M., Bienhoff, K., Bhoomadevi, A., Ababneh, H. S., Abbasi, M., Dolatabadi, Z. A., Abbasifard, M., ElHafeez, S. A., Abdalla, A. N., Abdel-Hameed, R., et al. (2026) · The Lancet Public Health · doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00145-3 · Cited by 5
The Intricate Web of Fatigue in Women
Mathis, B. J. (2021) · Women · doi:10.3390/women1040023 · Cited by 4
Au, T. H., Willis, C., Reblin, M., Peters, K. B., Nghiemphu, P. L., Taylor, J. W., Colman, H., Cohen, A. L., Ormond, D. R., Neil, E. C., et al. (2023) · Future Oncology · doi:10.2217/fon-2022-0904 · Cited by 2
Elhawy, L. L., AbdAllah, A., Bayomi, M., & El-Maghawry, H. A. (2023) · The Egyptian Journal of Community Medicine · doi:10.21608/ejcm.2023.194887.1248 · Cited by 2
Bonsu, A. S., Yendork, J. S., & Antwi, O.-A. (2023) · Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health · doi:10.1007/s40737-023-00349-0 · Cited by 2
“More females and parents participating in the present study is consistent with the findings of studies on gender disparities among family caregivers of persons living with mental disorders, and where the majority of parent caregivers were also women (Rammohan et al. 2002; Sharma et al. 2016).”
Ecologies of sustainable development goals: a mid-term perspective
Mustafa, D., Matson, P., Roberts, E., & Sharpe, J. (2023) · International Development Planning Review · doi:10.3828/idpr.2023.12 · Cited by 2
Wrotek, M., & Kalbarczyk, M. (2023) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-023-04216-2 · Cited by 8
“…for mothers than for fathers but it might be explained by the fact that females (especially spouses) most often play the role of informal caregivers [90, 91], hence males are more likely to receive informal care from their wives, but widowed females need to receive more support from their children.”
BackgroundTurcotte, K., & Holtzman, S. (2023) · British Journal of Pain · doi:10.1177/20494637231206541 · Cited by 2
“It is noteworthy that worldwide, women are the predominant providers of informal care 51 and form the majority of health care workers.”
BackgroundFan, X., Du, J., Yu, H., Xu, Q., Weng, X., Gou, Y., & Si, Y. (2023) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-068850 · Cited by 2
“25 Generally, informal caregivers put others first and focus on the patient’s health.”
BackgroundAlzaben, M. B. L., & Shawaqfeh, B. S. (2024) · American Journal of Alzheimer s Disease & Other Dementias® · doi:10.1177/15333175241248056 · Cited by 2
“…are responsible for providing care more than men, while Sharma et al, (2016) prove that women are more susceptible to caregiving stress than men, 25 as well McDonnell and Ryan (2011) hypothesize that one of the reasons why men are less susceptible to stress is that they are not willing to admit…”
BackgroundFamily Caregivers’ Experiences of Caring for Patients with Heart Failure: A Qualitative Study
Tunsi, A., Idrees, M., Al-faifi, N., Heliebi, N., Al-zahrani, S., Alaamri, M. M., & Alhofaian, A. (2024) · Journal of the Practice of Cardiovascular Sciences · doi:10.4103/jpcs.jpcs_54_23 · Cited by 2
Perspectives of mental health professionals on kinship care for persons with mental illness in Ghana
Abekah‐Carter, K., Ayim, M., Cudjoe, E., Abdullah, A., & Chiu, M. Y.-L. (2024) · International Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.1080/00207411.2024.2377754 · Cited by 2
“…a need to consolidate informal caregiving and support despite the difficult experiences like stigma, stress, and financial burden that caregivers have reported in Ghana (Ae-Ngibise et al., 2015; Mfoafo-M’Carthy & Grischow, 2022) and in other jurisdictions (Clari et al., 2022; Sharma et al., 2016).”
The bittersweet nature of adult family caregiving on workplace behaviors and attitudes
Carlson, D. S., Quade, M. J., Wan, M., & Kacmar, K. M. (2024) · Journal of Vocational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2024.104029 · Cited by 3
Hynes, B., Costin, Y., Richardson, I., Wang, X., & Travers, M. (2024) · Research in Science Education · doi:10.1007/s11165-024-10202-4 · Cited by 2
“…(European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation 2023) given that their underrepresentation leads to a decrease in innovative and productive capacity, lower career opportunities and potential for higher earnings (Sharma et al., 2016; Rietveld and Patel 2023; Treanor, 2022).”
Examining mental and physical distress among male informal caregivers in the US
Cooper, D. L., Simkus, A., Holtz, K. D., Wanty, N., Easter, B., & Wright, E. R. (2024) · Discover Health Systems · doi:10.1007/s44250-024-00150-1 · Cited by 2
“Sharma et al. [20] confirmed that sex differences exist in caregiving, including role expectations and differences in caregiving-related stress and coping.”
Győrffy, Z., Döbrössy, B. M., Wernigg, A., & Girasek, E. (2024) · Acta Medicinae et Sociologica · doi:10.19055/ams.2024.11/29/3 · Cited by 2
Dewari, A. S., Chakrabarti, D., Goswami, V., & Chandel, S. (2024) · Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment · doi:10.1080/10911359.2024.2447855 · Cited by 2
“In India, where patriarchal norms often delineate roles, women are typically seen as primary caregivers (Sharma et al., 2016).”
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
