Old Age Informal Caring and Impact on Health Among Adults in Italy

This study examines the relationship between informal intergenerational caregiving and self-rated health (SRH) among Italian adults, with a focus on gender and employment status. Using data from the 2016 Italian Family, Social Subjects, and Life Cycle (FSS) ISTAT survey, we analyse a sample of 8,610 individuals aged 35–64 with at least one living parent. Caregivers are identified by weekly informal caregiving, co-residence with the cared recipient, or assistance provided outside the household. Logistic regression models are used to estimate the association between informal caregiving and health outcomes, while Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (IPTW) is applied to infer causal effects of providing care. Results indicate that caregivers are less likely to report good or very good SRH than non-caregivers, though gender-specific effects are not statistically significant. Among employed or employable individuals, caregiving has the strongest negative impact, particularly for women, while among inactive individuals, no significant association is observed. This suggests that role conflict may intensify stress from caregiving responsibilities. Future research will further investigate care intensity and multiple caregiving roles using advanced IPTW methods to refine causal estimates.