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Abstract
As the population ages in the United States, there is growing concern over who will provide care to older adults. The majority of long-term care is provided by family members, though quantitative research to date does not usually account for characteristics of older adults and family members when examining caregiving outcomes. Additionally, there is limited research on how Social Security benefit receipt affects caregiving arrangements. This dissertation investigates the relationship between individual and adult child characteristics and family caregiving; the relationship between each of the three Social Security programs and family caregiving; and how Social Security benefit receipt interacts with adult child characteristics to affect family caregiving. It also investigates if these relationships vary across race and income. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) for years 1998 to 2014, I estimate the relationships between individual and family characteristics and family caregiving using linear probability models (LPM). Additionally, I use Social Security data from the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) merged with HRS data to estimate the relationships between receipt of each Social Security program (Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI)) and family caregiving outcomes, as well as interactions between Social Security programs and adult child characteristics. I find that when accounting for both care recipient and adult child characteristics, the results support evidence from prior literature about the relationships between each of these variables and family caregiving for older adults. This dissertation also identified many differences in variable effects across stratified samples, especially by race. I find that the relationship between Social Security benefits and caregiving outcomes vary with the type of benefit, and that the relationships vary by family characteristics. The results highlight the importance of stratifying studies of caregiving, especially by race. By extension, the results suggest that any changes to Social Security policy should consider how they may affect different kinds of families differently. Additionally, these findings point to the importance of including family in care planning conversations, and for practitioners to practice cultural humility in these meetings.