Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Social Work, School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
Age Ageing. 2020 Jul 1;49(4):622-627. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa032.
Previous literature has suggested that negative and positive aspects of spousal caregiving co-exist. However, positive and negative experiences were often examined independently. This study aimed to empirically test a parallel process model of spousal caregiving.
This cross-sectional survey of family caregiving involved 269 frail older adults living in Shanghai, China, in 2016. Quota sampling was conducted to find community-dwelling frail older adults with a primary caregiver. Path analysis was used to identify the relationship between negative and positive caregiving experiences and life satisfaction.
We found two independent paths towards life satisfaction: (i) activities of daily living were negatively associated with burden, and burden was associated with lower life satisfaction; and (ii) spousal caregivers' self-reported health and financial state were positively associated with positive appraisal, and positive appraisal was associated with higher life satisfaction. Caregiving time contributed to both aspects of caregiving experiences. The covariance between caregiving burden and positive appraisals was not statistically significant.
Spousal caregiving involves a parallel process. Negative and positive experiences are separate constructs and their associations with life satisfaction vary. We advocate for policy and interventions that promote positive views of caregiving that encourage caregivers to develop a high level of overall life satisfaction despite the hardships of their caregiving tasks.
以往的文献表明，配偶照料存在积极和消极两个方面。然而，积极和消极的体验往往是独立进行研究的。本研究旨在实证检验配偶照料的平行过程模型。
这项针对家庭照料的横断面调查涉及 2016 年居住在中国上海的 269 名体弱老年人。采用配额抽样方法找到有主要照料者的社区居住的体弱老年人。路径分析用于确定消极和积极照料体验与生活满意度之间的关系。
我们发现了两条通往生活满意度的独立路径：（i）日常生活活动与负担呈负相关，而负担与较低的生活满意度相关；（ii）配偶照料者自我报告的健康和财务状况与积极评价呈正相关，积极评价与更高的生活满意度相关。照料时间对照料体验的两个方面都有贡献。照料负担和积极评价之间的协方差没有统计学意义。
配偶照料涉及一个平行过程。消极和积极的体验是独立的构念，它们与生活满意度的关系也不同。我们主张采取政策和干预措施，促进对照料的积极看法，鼓励照料者在照顾任务的困难中发展出高水平的整体生活满意度。
