Caregiver strain, age, and psychological well-being of older spousal caregivers in Hong Kong

Abstract

Summary With the social policy movement, smaller family size, longer lifespan, confined living conditions, and limited caregiving resources, informal caregiving for older adults in Hong Kong has become the main responsibility of the spouse. Their psychological well-being becomes a major concern as they may experience immense strain from undertaking the caregiving role while suffering from age-related declines. To examine whether psychological well-being differs by caregiver strain and age, 112 spousal caregivers aged 55 and over were recruited from 13 caregiver resource centres in Hong Kong. Participants responded to a structured questionnaire on multiple dimensions of psychological well-being. Findings Of the respondents, 22.9% reported high levels of strain and 9.9% reported high levels of depression. Results from t-tests revealed that caregivers who perceive low levels of strain are more likely to report lower caregiving distress, higher general mental health, lower depressive symptoms, higher subjective well-being, higher life satisfaction, and higher purpose in life. Old-old caregivers are more likely to report lower caregiving distress, lower depressive symptoms, and higher subjective well-being than young-old caregivers. Applications Findings are discussed in relation to the transactional model of stress and coping, selective optimization with compensation theory, and socio-cultural context in Hong Kong. It is suggested that culturally sensitive intervention programs should be custom-tailored for older spousal caregivers by honouring their contributions, affirming their strengths, enhancing their SOC strategies, and educating on successful ageing.

The oldest carers: A narrative review and synthesis of the experiences of carers aged over 75 years

“…Studies were published between 2004 and 2015 and included 9487 participants (mean 410.1, range 57-1214). Five publications (including [23]) were Scandinavian [23][24][25][26][27], four came from the USA [28][29][30][31] with one each from Taiwan [32], Hong Kong [33] and Australia [34]. Again there were more female than male carer participants and where relationships were reported, carers were mostly spouses.…”

“…The overwhelming aim in the quantitative studies was to investigate the negative consequences of caring on older people including depression, strain, burden and loneliness. Many investigated the relationships between carer demographic characteristics or the characteristics of those being cared for on these negative outcomes [25][26][27][28][29]33].…”

Variances in family carers' quality of life based on selected relationship and caregiving indicators: A quantitative secondary analysis

“…Not surprisingly, family caregiving holds a myriad of ramifications for individual family members' health and well‐being (Camak, ; Grant, Cavanagh, & Yorke, ; Greenwood, Mackenzie, Cloud, & Wilson, ; Pinquart & Sorensen, ). Quantitative studies or reviews thereof have identified negative effects of family caregiving on caregiver health, including increased depression or mood disturbances, emotional distress, anxiety, physical exhaustion or decreased quality of life, and positive outcomes have also been reported, among them are personal growth, increased intimacy and a sense of meaning (Cassidy, ; Chow & Ho, ; Fletcher, Miaskowski, Given, & Schumacher, ; Greenwood, Mackenzie, Cloud, & Wilson, ; Hudson, ). In contrast, which family relationships or caregiving characteristics buffer against or put family carers at risk for adverse outcomes is less well understood (Alvira et al., ; Bastawrous, Gignac, Kapral, & Cameron, ; Hudson, ).…”

Aspectos psicológicos da qualidade de vida de cuidadores de idosos: uma revisão integrativa

“…Os estudos também mostraram que altos níveis de sobrecarga foram associados a baixos níveis de bem-estar 27,31,36,40 e afeto positivo. 44 E os menores com maior felicidade.…”

“…Pruchno e Gitlin 52 afirmam que o cuidado afeta as pessoas de modo diferente de acordo com o tipo de atenção dispensada, a avaliação dos recursos existentes e em que estágio do desenvolvimento a pessoa se torna cuidadora. Alguns estudos dessa revisão 23,30,32,36,42 apontaram diferenças nas respostas de cuidadores de diferentes idades perante as demandas de cuidado, no entanto, elas precisam ser mais investigadas e precisamos saber como e porque elas ocorrem.…”