Perceived stress and social support influence anxiety symptoms of Chinese family caregivers of community‐dwelling older adults: a cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Aim Chinese family members always take care of older adults because of obligations stemming from the culture of filial piety and the paucity of a long‐term care system. These caregivers usually perceive high levels of stress that could compromise their psychological health and consequently result in anxiety impairments. This study aimed to assess the anxiety symptoms of Chinese family caregivers of older adults, explore factors associated with these symptoms, and provide theoretical evidence on improving their mental health. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted face‐to‐face with caregivers of community‐dwelling older adults. The survey asked about the demographic characteristics of the caregivers and older adults, objective caregiving loads, and social support and included the Zung Self‐Rating Anxiety Scale and the Perceived Stress Scale. Results Anxiety symptoms were present in 43.1% of caregivers. The R2 changes indicated that the incremental variance explained by each block of variables was 9.8%, 5.0%, 0.7%, 17.6%, and 2.1% for demographic characteristics of caregivers, demographic characteristics of older adults, objective caregiving loads, perceived stress, and social support, respectively. Perceived stress was the strongest predictor of anxiety symptoms, and social support was positively associated with anxiety symptoms. Factors associated with caregivers' anxiety symptoms were having a chronic disease and living with older adults, as well as older adults’ weight, hours of sleep, and education level. Conclusion Chinese family caregivers of older adults experienced higher levels of anxiety symptoms. Perceived stress could aggravate these symptoms, but social support might assist in alleviating anxiety symptoms from the stress of caregiving.

Sex differences and psychological stress: responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in China

“…Conforming to common perceptions, people alerted to COVID-related risks and threats instinctively seek outside help, confirmed in a recent Chinese study demonstrating that individuals, on average, spent ≥3 h per day during the pandemic associated with mental health [29]. Social support, typically associated with lower depression and anxiety, could further buffer the cognitive effects of stress [30]. Our findings suggest that appropriate social supports (e.g., frequent contactwith colleagues) to relieve stress during a pandemic might include providing more professional knowledge of protective measures, real-time updates and reports, access to urgent medical services, basic living security measures, and alternative means to interpersonal communication.…”

Sex differences and Psychological Stress: Responses to the COVID-19 epidemic in China

“…Conforming to the common perceptions, people alerted to risks and threats instinctively seek outside help, con rmed in a recent Chinese study demonstrating that individuals, on average, spent ≥ 3 hours per day during the epidemic associated with mental health [ 20]. Social support, typically associated with lower depression and anxiety, could further buffer the cognitive effects of stress [21]. Our ndings suggest that appropriate social supports, such as frequent contacting with colleagues, to relieve stress during an epidemic might include providing more professional knowledge of protective measures, real-time updates and report, access to urgent medical service, basic living security measures, and alternative means to interpersonal communication.…”

The relationship between perceived stress and emotional distress during the COVID-19 outbreak: Effects of boredom proneness and coping style

“…Stressor appraisals result in a series of emotional distress reactions when individuals assess that they have no control or inadequate resources to deal with the challenge ( Lazarus & Folkman, 1984 ). Numerous research evidence has linked high perceived stress not only to emotional disturbances such as anxiety ( Besharart, Khadem, Zarei, & Momtaz, 2020 ; Shi, Huang, Jia, & Yang, 2020 ), depression ( Spada, Nikčević, Moneta, & Wells, 2008 ), and post-traumatic stress disorder ( Wang, Xu, Ren, Wang, & Wang, 2019 ) but also to adverse physical health including a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke ( Booth et al, 2015 ; Wright, Hanlon, Lozano, & Teitelman, 2019 ).…”