Kim Youngmee, Loscalzo Matthew J, Wellisch David K, Spillers Rachel L
Behavioral Research Center, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA 30329-4251, USA.
Psychooncology. 2006 Dec;15(12):1086-92. doi: 10.1002/pon.1049.
Despite a growing body of research on male caregivers, limited information is available on male caregivers of cancer survivors. Furthermore, few studies have examined the unique contribution of caregiver esteem as well as care-recipient's functional status as potential mediators of the link between gender and caregiving stress. Thus, the present study examines how the caregiver's perception of providing care to a spouse with cancer differs by gender. The proposed mediators, caregiver's esteem and care-recipient's psychosocial and physical functioning, were tested simultaneously, utilizing structural equation modeling. Results revealed that both caregiver's esteem and care-recipient's psychosocial functioning were significant mediators, but in different directions. Specifically, husband caregivers reported higher caregiver's esteem, which resulted in reporting less stress from providing care to their wife with cancer. On the other hand, when husband caregivers provided care to their wife with poorer psychosocial functioning, they reported greater stress from caregiving. Husband caregivers will benefit from programs designed to educate them to effectively assist their wife's psychosocial adjustment to cancer by reducing their stress from providing care.
尽管关于男性照顾者的研究越来越多，但关于癌症幸存者男性照顾者的信息却有限。此外，很少有研究考察照顾者自尊以及受照顾者功能状态作为性别与照顾压力之间联系的潜在中介的独特作用。因此，本研究考察了照顾者对照顾患癌配偶的认知如何因性别而异。利用结构方程模型，同时检验了拟议的中介因素，即照顾者的自尊以及受照顾者的心理社会和身体功能。结果显示，照顾者的自尊和受照顾者的心理社会功能都是显著的中介因素，但方向不同。具体而言，丈夫照顾者报告的照顾者自尊较高，这导致他们报告在照顾患癌妻子时压力较小。另一方面，当丈夫照顾者照顾心理社会功能较差的妻子时，他们报告的照顾压力更大。丈夫照顾者将受益于旨在教育他们通过减轻照顾压力来有效协助妻子对癌症进行心理社会调适的项目。
