Date of Award

January 2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Krista Lynn Minnotte

Abstract

Informal caregivers are those who provide care without compensation. In the US, eighty-five percent of elderly individuals receive care from an informal caregiver, and this number is expected to increase at a steady rate in future years. Within this role, caregivers often experience different types of strain, stemming from physical, emotional, and financial demands. Guided by intersectionality theory, this thesis explored the relationship between informal caregiving strains and gender, race, and income. This thesis also took into consideration various control variables, including age, marital status, education, number of hours spent providing care, and employment status. Data from the 2015 Caregiving in the US survey (N = 1,248) were used. Findings indicated male informal caregivers reported more financial strain than female informal caregivers, White women reported more emotional strain than Non-White women, and those with higher incomes reported less financial strain. Results also indicated that gender, race, and income were not significantly related to physical strain among informal caregivers. Implications, limitations, and areas to be considered for future research were discussed.

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