Global and Community Mental Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macao (SAR), China.
Fuhong Society of Macau, Macao (SAR), China.
Br J Health Psychol. 2020 Sep;25(3):790-813. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12434. Epub 2020 May 30.
Chinese informal caregivers experience burden due to their caregiving responsibilities that violate their belief of reciprocal parent-child relationship, but little is known about this burden and coping processes among Chinese. It is believed that internal coping (i.e., self-reliance) and external coping (i.e., seeking help from others) better captured cultural characteristics of coping styles observed among Chinese. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of mental ill health, identify correlates, investigate the impact of caregiving burden on mental health, and explore the potentially moderating role of two coping strategies.
A purposive sample of 234 informal caregivers of family with intellectual or mental disability in Macao (SAR), China, from August to September 2018 was investigated.
DASS-21, Caregiving Burden Inventory (CBI), Perceived Difficulty Scale (PD), and a modified Chinese Coping Scale were used. Multiple regression analyses were conducted.
CBI and PD were associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Whereas internal coping buffered the effect of PD on depression and anxiety, external coping exacerbated the effect of PD on anxiety and the effect of CBI on depression and anxiety.
Poor mental health among caregivers is associated with greater caregiving challenges and burdens. Internal coping helped to buffer but external coping worsened the effect of burdens on mental health outcomes. Interventions that improve internal coping and mental health might be helpful for ageing informal caregivers.
中国非专业照护者由于其照护责任违背了亲子互惠关系的观念而感到负担过重，但人们对这种负担以及中国非专业照护者的应对过程知之甚少。人们认为，内部应对（即自力更生）和外部应对（即寻求他人帮助）更好地捕捉到了中国文化中观察到的应对方式的文化特征。因此，本研究的目的是估计心理健康不良的患病率，确定其相关因素，调查照护负担对心理健康的影响，并探讨两种应对策略的潜在调节作用。
2018 年 8 月至 9 月，在中国澳门特别行政区（SAR）对 234 名智障或精神残疾家庭的非专业照护者进行了一项有针对性的抽样调查。
使用 DASS-21、照护者负担量表（CBI）、感知困难量表（PD）和修改后的中国应对量表进行了调查。进行了多元回归分析。
CBI 和 PD 与抑郁、焦虑和压力有关。内部应对缓冲了 PD 对抑郁和焦虑的影响，而外部应对则加剧了 PD 对焦虑的影响以及 CBI 对抑郁和焦虑的影响。
照护者的心理健康状况较差与更大的照护挑战和负担有关。内部应对有助于缓冲，但外部应对则使负担对心理健康结果的影响恶化。改善内部应对和心理健康的干预措施可能对老龄化的非专业照护者有益。
