Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, New York, USA.
School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2023 Nov 14;78(11):1813-1823. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbad119.
Caregiving dynamics may shape caregivers' views on their own aging in ways that affect their (de)motivation to improve their current and future health and well-being. In this study, we investigated within-person associations of daily positive and negative caregiving appraisals, future self-views (physical functioning, cognitive, and overall health domains), and physical activity goal pursuit among adult-daughter dementia caregivers.
Data came from 33 middle-aged caregivers (M = 55.03) who participated in a 30-day microlongitudinal study of caregiving (N of occasions = 855). We used multilevel modeling to analyze within-person associations.
Daily positive caregiving appraisals were not associated with daily future self-views. However, on days when caregivers reported higher negative caregiving appraisals, they thought more negatively about their future older selves in all domains. In turn, on days when caregivers thought more negatively about their future older selves in all domains, they reported lower physical activity goal pursuit. Future self-views in all domains mediated the association between negative caregiving appraisals and physical activity goal pursuit. Future self-views did not mediate the association between positive caregiving appraisals and physical activity goal pursuit. However, cognitive future self-views moderated the association between positive caregiving appraisals and physical activity goal pursuit.
Results suggest that one pathway through which subjective caregiving experiences, especially negative caregiving appraisals, affect caregivers' physical activity goal pursuit is through future self-views. Thus, this study offers a deeper theoretical understanding of caregivers' self-regulatory health behavior and new empirical information on how caregiving might affect life-span developmental motivation.
照护动态可能以影响其改善当前和未来健康和福祉的动机的方式塑造照护者对自身衰老的看法。本研究调查了成年女儿痴呆症照护者日常积极和消极的照护评估、未来自我观念（身体功能、认知和整体健康领域）和身体活动目标追求之间的个体内关联。
数据来自 33 名中年照护者（M=55.03），他们参加了一项为期 30 天的照护微纵向研究（N of occasions=855）。我们使用多层次模型分析个体内关联。
日常积极的照护评估与日常未来自我观念无关。然而，当照护者报告更高的消极照护评估时，他们在所有领域对未来的老年自我的看法更消极。反过来，当照护者在所有领域对未来的老年自我的看法更消极时，他们报告的身体活动目标追求较低。所有领域的未来自我观念都介导了消极照护评估与身体活动目标追求之间的关联。未来自我观念并没有中介积极照护评估与身体活动目标追求之间的关联。然而，认知未来自我观念调节了积极照护评估与身体活动目标追求之间的关联。
结果表明，主观照护体验，尤其是消极照护评估，影响照护者身体活动目标追求的一种途径是通过未来自我观念。因此，本研究提供了对照护者自我调节健康行为的更深入的理论理解，并提供了新的实证信息，说明照护如何影响寿命发展动机。
