Grandmothers Caring for Grandchildren Experience Greater Depression

Women’s Policy Institute Announces Research on 'Grandchild Care'
Grandmothers Caring for Grandchildren Show Increased Depression Since COVID-19

Women who take care of their grandchildren were found to have higher depression scores than those who do not.

According to the study titled "The Impact of Grandchild Care on Grandmothers' Depression: Utilizing Propensity Score Matching and Difference-in-Differences," published on the 5th in the Korean Journal of Women’s Studies by the Korean Women’s Development Institute, grandmothers caring for their grandchildren experienced greater feelings of depression compared to the control group.

For this study, the research team used the Women and Families Panel Survey conducted by the Korean Women’s Development Institute and applied a 5:1 matching ratio, which is commonly used in matching studies.

The group caring for grandchildren aged six and under consisted of 60 individuals, while the comparison group without grandchildren care included 265 individuals. The questionnaire consisted of 10 items with values ranging from 1 to 4, where lower scores indicated higher levels of depression.

The results showed that the depression score for the group caring for grandchildren worsened from 3.510 in 2018 to 3.341 in 2020. In contrast, the group not caring for grandchildren had scores of 3.483 in 2018 and 3.481 in 2020.

Among factors affecting depression in the elderly, whether or not they cared for grandchildren had the fourth largest impact, following ▲subjective economic status ▲occupational status ▲subjective health condition. Other variables such as marital status, number of chronic diseases, daily stress, religion, financial support from children, and satisfaction with leisure activities had less influence compared to grandchild care.

The research team explained, "Since the 8th wave (2020) survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the descriptive statistics of the treatment group (those caring for grandchildren) at that time reveal the characteristics of grandmothers caring for grandchildren during the COVID-19 period."

They added, "Simply taking on the role of a grandchild caregiver increases feelings of depression compared to those who do not provide care. Regardless of caregiving characteristics such as caregiving hours, co-residence with grandchildren, or receiving compensation for care, the act of caring for grandchildren itself becomes a burden for grandmothers."

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