Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2010 Jul;44(7):616-24. doi: 10.3109/00048671003620202.
To contrast the level of anxiety and depression reported by older Australians providing assistance to someone who is ill, disabled or elderly with that of non-caregivers; and to identify secondary stressors and mediating factors which explain caregivers' poorer mental health.
Analysis of data from wave 2 of the PATH Through Life Study, a community survey of 2,222 adults aged 64-69 years conducted in Canberra and Queanbeyan, Australia. Mental health was assessed using the Goldberg depression and anxiety scales. Analyses focused on those who identified themselves as a primary carer and/or reported providing care for more than 5 hours per week. Analyses evaluated whether the association between caregiver status and mental health was mediated by financial factors, role strain, physical health, and social support and conflict with family and friends after adjusting for demographics.
Caregivers reported significantly poorer mental health than non-caregivers, and also reported poorer physical health, greater financial stress, greater responsibility for household tasks, and more conflict and less social support from their family and spouse. Mediation analysis showed that the poorer mental health of caregivers reflected elevated rates of their own physical impairment, a lack of social support and greater conflict.
The relationship between caregiving and mental health was largely explained by social support and levels of conflict within the family, which are modifiable and potentially amenable to change through policy and intervention. Research such as this can assist the development of appropriate interventions to improve the circumstances of informal caregivers in Australia.
对比有照顾病人、残疾或老年人的澳大利亚老年人和非照顾者报告的焦虑和抑郁程度；并确定解释照顾者心理健康状况较差的次要压力源和中介因素。
对澳大利亚堪培拉和昆比恩进行的一项针对 2222 名 64-69 岁成年人的生活轨迹研究（PATH Through Life Study）第二波数据进行分析。使用 Goldberg 抑郁和焦虑量表评估心理健康。分析重点关注那些自认为是主要照顾者的人，或报告每周提供超过 5 小时照顾的人。在调整人口统计学因素后，分析评估了照顾者身份与心理健康之间的关联是否由财务因素、角色紧张、身体健康以及与家人和朋友的冲突和支持来介导。
照顾者报告的心理健康状况明显差于非照顾者，而且还报告了较差的身体健康状况、更大的财务压力、更多的家务责任，以及更多的家庭和伴侣冲突，以及更少的社会支持。中介分析表明，照顾者心理健康状况较差反映了他们自身身体机能障碍的发生率较高，缺乏社会支持以及更多的冲突。
照顾与心理健康之间的关系在很大程度上可以通过家庭内的社会支持和冲突水平来解释，这些因素是可以改变的，并且可以通过政策和干预来改变。此类研究可以帮助制定适当的干预措施，改善澳大利亚非正式照顾者的处境。
