Class and Caring: A Forgotten Dimension

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Abstract
Class differences in the provision of informal care have received little research attention. Since class gradients in ill-health and life expectancy are strong, differences in need for informal care are to be expected between classes. We use data from the 1985 General Household Survey to examine the prevalence and location of informal care-giving among women and men by class and by stage in the life course. Although informal carers as a whole are drawn equally from all classes, if the two locations of care - whether within the same household or for someone in a different household - are examined separately, class differences emerge. Co-resident care, which places greater constraints on the carer's life, is more frequently provided by working class men and women than the middle class. Thus the working class bear the greatest burden of providing care, while at the same time possessing fewer material resources to aid them in the task.