Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-14-2022
Abstract
Providing care to a spouse can be especially challenging for older adults given their compounding stressors resulting from aging and caregiving. This cross-sectional study examines the relationships between caregiving stressors and caregiver mental health problems and the potential mediator (i.e., caregiving relationship quality) of these associations. A total of 431 Americans (≥65 years) were selected from the National Study of Caregiving. Path analysis shows that care assistance was positively associated with caregiver mental health problems, and this association was mediated by negative relationship quality (Indirect effect =.14, p =.016). Moreover, role overload was positively associated with caregiver mental health problems, which was mediated by negative relationship quality (indirect effect =.13, p =.002). Findings suggest that caregiving stressors can adversely affect mental health by exacerbating negative relationship quality. Interventions that limit negative exchanges and increase compassionate communications between older spousal caregivers and their care-receiving partners are needed.
Keywords
anxiety, caregiving in late life, depression, relationship quality, role overload
Publication Title
The International Journal of Aging and Human Development
Volume
97
Issue
4
First Page
435
Last Page
455
Rights
© The Author(s) 2022. This article is protected by copyright and reuse is restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses. Users may also download and save a local copy of an article accessed in an institutional repository for the user's personal reference. Contact publisher for permission to reuse.
Recommended Citation
Wang F, Irani E, Tian MC, Yi Lau MM. The Mediating Effect of Caregiving Relationship Quality on the Association Between Caregiving Stressors and Mental Health Problems Among Older Spousal Caregivers. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development. 2023;97(4):435-455. doi:10.1177/00914150221143959
Comments
This is a peer reviewed Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Sage in The International Journal of Aging and Human Development available at https://doi.org/10.1177/00914150221143959.