Dispositional mindfulness, self‐compassion, and compassion from others as moderators between stress and depression in caregivers of patients with lung cancer

Abstract

Objective The present study aimed to identify the most important protective factors predicting caregivers' depressive symptoms among factors of caregivers' dispositional mindfulness, self‐compassion, compassion from others, and patients' dispositional mindfulness and their moderator effects on the relationship between caregiving stress and depressive symptoms. Methods A total of 72 lung cancer outpatients and their family caregivers participated in this study. Family caregivers completed the Kingston Caregiver Stress Scale, Beck Depression Inventory‐II (BDI‐II), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Self‐Compassion Scale, and Compassion from Others Scale. Patients completed the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ‐C30), BDI‐II, and FFMQ. Results After controlling for patients' factors (treatment status, symptom distress, and depressive symptoms) and caregivers' health status, caregivers' stress and dispositional mindfulness, the domain of mindful awareness, and self‐compassionate action were significantly associated with their depressive symptoms. Further analysis indicated that mindful awareness or self‐compassionate action could buffer the effect of caregiving stress on depressive symptoms. When the two moderators, mindful awareness and self‐compassionate action, were tested simultaneously, only self‐compassionate action remained as a significant moderating effect. Conclusions Caregivers' mindful awareness and self‐compassionate action were protective factors, which mitigate the impact of caregiving stress on their depressive symptoms. Therefore, the future supportive program aims at training the competencies of self‐compassionate action with mindful awareness, which may enhance caregivers' coping resources.

Enhanced coping and self‐efficacy in caregivers of stem cell transplant recipients: Identifying mechanisms of a multimodal psychosocial intervention

“…Participants learned and practiced relaxation, cognitive restructuring, and assertive communication as well as the ability to choose an effective coping technique accounting for the controllability of the stressor (problem-focused coping vs emotion-focused coping). 19 Although studies show that proficiency with skills, such as engaging in mindful awareness and self-compassion, may be linked to better management of distress among caregivers in other cancer populations, 20 evidence of the impact of psychosocial interventions on coping efforts in the HCT caregiving setting is lacking and mixed. 21,22 To our knowledge, ours is the first to demonstrate improved coping in caregivers in the HCT setting.…”

Validity of the Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales with family carers of older adults: confirmatory factor analyses

“…Although still relatively recent in terms of development, the CEAS are beginning to be used within compassion-focused research. In general population samples from Australia and Singapore (Steindl et al, 2018;Steindl et al, 2019), and in caregivers of people with lung cancer in Taiwan (Hsieh et al, 2019), the CEAS have performed acceptably, with good levels of internal reliability reported (Cronbach's α from .79 to .95). In contrast, a recent study conducted with female survivors of intimate partner violence in Colombia reported excluding the CEAS as a planned outcome measure, as participants did not understand multiple items during piloting (Naismith et al, 2020).…”

The Relationship between Coronavirus Anxiety, Mindfulness and Spiritual Health in Patients with Cancer: A Survey in Southeast Iran

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