Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Clin Gerontol. 2024 May-Jun;47(3):484-493. doi: 10.1080/07317115.2020.1783042. Epub 2020 Jun 28.
The present study sought to examine the association between sleep disturbance, mental health symptoms, and quality of life among informal caregivers. The study also aimed to assess whether greater caregiver demands (i.e., hours spent providing care per week) altered the associations between these physical and mental health outcomes.
530 informal caregivers participated in an online study of sleep and health across the lifespan. Sleep disturbance was assessed via the Insomnia Severity Index and RU-SATED. Mental health was measured using the PHQ-2, GAD-2, and the PANAS. Quality of life was assessed via the Satisfaction with Life Scale.
Results revealed an indirect association between sleep disturbance and quality of life via increased mental health symptoms (= -.21, =.001). This indirect association was moderated by caregiver demands (=.33, =.002), with higher caregiving demands increasing the association between sleep disturbance and quality of life.
Findings highlight the adverse outcomes associated with sleep disturbance among caregivers and suggest that higher caregiving demands increases the effect of sleep disturbance on quality of life.
Increased caregiving is associated with adverse physical and mental health consequences. Assessing and treating sleep disturbance among caregivers is needed and may lead to improvements in mental health and quality of life.
本研究旨在探讨睡眠障碍、心理健康症状与非正式照护者生活质量之间的关系。本研究还旨在评估更大的照护需求（即每周提供照护的时间）是否改变了这些身心健康结果之间的关联。
530 名非正式照护者参加了一项关于整个生命周期的睡眠和健康的在线研究。通过失眠严重程度指数和 RU-SATED 评估睡眠障碍。使用 PHQ-2、GAD-2 和 PANAS 评估心理健康。使用生活满意度量表评估生活质量。
结果显示，睡眠障碍与心理健康症状之间存在间接关联（= -.21，=.001）。这种间接关联受到照护需求的调节（=.33，=.002），较高的照护需求增加了睡眠障碍与生活质量之间的关联。
研究结果强调了睡眠障碍与照护者相关的不良后果，并表明较高的照护需求增加了睡眠障碍对生活质量的影响。
增加的照护与不良的身心健康后果有关。需要评估和治疗照护者的睡眠障碍，这可能会导致心理健康和生活质量的改善。
