Daughters-in-law provide care for partners’ parents more often than sons-in-law: what characterises informal caregiving in Latvia?

12 October 2026

RSU in the news

Research

Writer: Laura Rubīna,
graduate, Public Health study programme

As the society ages, the proportion of people requiring long-term care is increasing.¹ Projections indicate that in Latvia, the proportion of population in need for support from others will grow from 31.7% in 2019 to 41.2% in 2030.² For a large number of those receiving support, it is provided informally,^3,4meaning the person providing assistance is not a professional caregiver. And, despite significant advances in the field of medicine, care continues to rely on an individualised approach and personal commitment.⁵

Older women are more often helped by their daughters-in-law than by their sons-in-law, while granddaughters rather than grandsons are more likely to be involved in caring for their grandmothers. Daughters are more likely to care for their mothers, while sons are more likely to care for their fathers – this is concluded according to a bachelor’s thesis study on informal caregiving conducted at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU).

What is informal caregiving?

This is a long-term care provided by an informal carer, that is, someone from the care receiver’s social environment, such as a partner, child, parent, friend or neighbour, who helps with everyday tasks and is not employed as a professional caregiver.^1,6,7 This person may provide any kind of assistance to older family members, friends and people in their social environment who live either in the same household or elsewhere and who need help with everyday tasks.¹ Informal caregivers are non-professionals who have not received formal training in care provision but may participate in specialised training courses. Caregivers do not receive remuneration, but they may receive financial compensation, such as an allowance.⁶

In Europe, the prevalence of informal care ranges from 20.4% in Lithuania to 44% in Finland, with the highest number of informal carers found in the Nordic countries – Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands.⁸ In the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which comprises 38 countries in Europe, North America, South America and the Asia-Pacific region, approximately 60% of older people who receive care do so exclusively through informal care. Informal carers are therefore becoming the primary source of care for people with long-term care needs.^6,9 Although around two-thirds of the OECD countries have introduced support mechanisms for informal carers, such as financial allowances or paid leave, this support is often insufficient, particularly in cases of long-term care.⁶

Less gender inequality for care in Northern Europe

Also In Latvia, as the proportion of older people increases, so does the need for care and support in everyday life.¹⁰ As in the rest of Europe, a large proportion of care for older people in Latvia is provided by their relatives and friends.¹¹ According to data from the 2022 SHARE study in Latvia, which included 1,684 respondents aged 50 and over, 8.6% provided informal care, while approximately one in eight people, or 12% of those surveyed, received informal care. It must be concluded that as the number of older people grows, so does the need for long-term care, which in turn further highlights the urgent need to improve and strengthen the existing care system.¹

Various studies have found that women make up the majority of informal caregivers for older people, with their proportion ranging from 57% to 81%, depending on the country and the context of the study.¹² The highest proportion of women has been observed in Eastern and Southern EU member states, while the lowest in Northern Europe.¹³ In northern Europe, the proportion of women in everyday care is around 3%, whilst in the south it is around 13%.¹⁴ Similarly, Northern Europe countries have the lowest levels of gender inequality in caregiving, as social policies prioritise gender equality by ensuring broad access to care services.^8,15

In my study on Latvia, I observed a similar trend, with women receiving care more frequently – almost 15% of women had received care, compared with 7.5% of men. Differences are also evident in the regularity of care provision. Women provided care more regularly than men – approximately 59% of women and 41% of men who were involved in informal caregiving did so at least once a week. These gender differences can be explained by unequal social support and differing family structures.¹⁶

Women’s greater involvement can also be seen when looking at which family members most often take care for parents and grandparents. Studies also show that fathers are more likely to receive care from their sons, while mothers - from their daughters. Similarly, older women were more likely to receive care from their daughters-in-law than from sons-in-law, while granddaughters rather than grandsons were more frequently involved in caring for their grandmothers.¹⁷ Overall, this data shows that caregiving responsibilities within the family are more often taken on by women – daughters, daughters-in-law and granddaughters. At the same time, children are one of the most important sources of support in old age. This is also demonstrated by a study conducted in the Netherlands, where more than half or 54% of respondents received informal care from their children. A further 23% received care from a spouse, while in the remaining 23% of cases, the care was provided by other relatives or close relationships.¹⁸

In the context of family and social relationships, the study’s findings show that people who have a partner or children are more likely to receive care from their family members, while among respondents without children, care is predominantly provided by friends or acquaintances. Among people living without a partner, approximately one in five or 20.6% had received informal care in the past year, compared with only 6.6% of those living with a partner. People without children were also slightly more likely to have received care. Among them, 14.6% had received informal care, compared with 11.6% of those with children.

The study’s data also shows significant differences in who provides informal care. Women more likely than men received care from their children. Almost half or 49% of women received care from their children, compared with approximately one in five or 21% of men. Differences are also evident depending on whether a person has a partner. People who had a partner were more likely to receive help from other family members – around 32% of people with a partner received such care, compared with around 20% of people without a partner.

The existence of children is particularly significant. Among people who had children, care was provided by their children in more than half of cases, or 51%. For people without children, by contract, friends and acquaintances played a much greater role. In this group, approximately two-thirds or 65% received care from friends or acquaintances. By comparison, around 26% of people with children received help from friends or acquaintances. This shows that the availability of family support can influence the type of care provided – where a partner or children are present, care is more often provided within the family, while in the absence of children and a partner, a wider social network – friends and acquaintances – may play a greater role. This social network has a significant meaning, as a broader social support network can help ensure continuity of care¹⁹ and reduce the risk of an older person being left without the necessary support in situations when the involvement of family members is limited.

The need for informal caregiving particularly increased with age. Among people who had reached the age of 80, almost one in three or 31.7% received care.

At the same time, as people grew older, their involvement in providing care for others decreased.

Emotionally and physically demanding duties

Similarly, an increasing proportion of people involved in providing informal care often lack sufficient prior knowledge, preparation or appropriate training, ^3,4 and, regardless of whether caregiving responsibilities are taken on gradually or suddenly, they can be both emotionally and physically demanding. Informal carers often try to balance caregiving with work, family life and their own health needs, frequently without sufficient practical and emotional support⁴. Also, informal caregiving can have a negative impact on carers’ prospects in the labour market, as they are often forced to reduce their working hours or even leave their jobs, thereby undermining their financial wellbeing and social security.^1,17 The data from the study revealed that the provision of informal care was more common among employed people. Approximately 11% of those in employment had provided informal care in the past year, compared with around 7% of those not employed. This shows that some people have to balance caring for relatives or others with their work responsibilities. It is therefore important to identify informal caregivers at an early stage, as these people often take on the role of an informal carer gradually or unexpectedly. They would need greater support to enable them to become involved in the caregiving process more effectively, for example, through accessible and effective training and support mechanisms.¹⁸

There were also differences for whom employed and unemployed people provided care for. Employed people were much more likely to care for family members – more than half or approximately 53% of employed caregivers provided care to family members, compared with around 22% of those not employed. By contrast, unemployed people were more likely to help friends or acquaintances. Approximately 60% of unemployed carers provided this type of help, compared with around 35% of employed caregivers.

A study conducted in Bristol concluded that taking on informal caregiving responsibilities is not always an entirely voluntary choice. Approximately a third of caregivers (32.6%) reported that they had taken on caregiving voluntarily, while nearly half (48.7%) considered their choice only partly voluntary, as it was influenced by a sense of duty, financial circumstances or insufficient social support. A further 18.7% of caregivers admitted that providing care was not actually their free choice, mainly due to the lack of other carers or financial resources.²⁰

Although informal care reduces the need for formal services¹ and having an informal carer may prevent or delay the admission of older people to long-term care facilities,^18,21 the insufficient support for informal care can result in poorer quality of care and greater demand for medical services in the future, creating a need to expand access to formal care.¹ It is considered that formal long-term care and informal care are complementary rather than interchangeable. Greater availability of formal long-term care can reduce the burden of care on family members, thereby fostering favourable conditions for voluntary involvement in informal care.²² However, in cases involving more complex needs, informal care cannot adequately replace formal care,²³ and formal care institutions would be unable to double or further increase their capacity to fully compensate for the care provided by informal carers.²⁴ Therefore, to achieve a lasting impact and integration with other forms of care, it is essential that those involved in the formal care sector would understand the nature of informal care – its providers, means and methods, as well as the need to continuously improve and expand the resources and opportunities for providing informal care.²⁵ This is a prerequisite for successful mutual coordination for sustainable and supportive public health policy in Latvia.

Informal care in Latvia is an important component of public health and social welfare. It provides vital support to older people; however, the study’s findings show that the receipt and provision of informal care are not evenly distributed – they vary depending on a person’s age, gender and family status. To gain a more comprehensive picture of informal care in Latvia, it would be important in future to also explore other influencing factors, such as health status, functional limitations, income, education and place of residence. It would also be essential to include care provided within a single household, particularly between spouses, parents and children. Further research into these factors would help to better understand the true extent of informal care and what support would be needed in the future for both care recipients and caregivers themselves.

References

Daughters-in-law provide care for partners’ parents more often than sons-in-law: what characterises informal caregiving in Latvia?

What is informal caregiving?

Less gender inequality for care in Northern Europe

Emotionally and physically demanding duties

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