Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Geriatr Nurs. 2024 Jul-Aug;58:183-190. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.05.037. Epub 2024 May 31.
Caregiving for a parent with dementia has both positive and negative influences on psychological well-being of adult children and perceived social support plays an essential role in dementia caregiving process.
We examined how the degree of caregiving intensity influences mental health among Chinese adult children then further explored how perceived social support influences the relationship between intensity and psychological well-being.
Cross-sectional study in Kunming, mainland China between November 2022 and January 2023.
We interviewed 320 adult dementia child caregivers. Linear regression and multiple mediation analysis using Hayes' process model were used to assess the relationship between caregiving intensity and psychological well-being, as well as the mediating role of perceived social support.
The study found that caregiving intensity was positively associated with depression and negatively associated with life satisfaction. A lack of perceived social support exacerbated these effects for the adult children. Specifically, the caregivers reported higher caregiving intensity when they perceived less family support, which is in turn associated with greater depression and lower life satisfaction among the caregivers. Likewise, those who reported higher caregiving intensity was reported lower friend support, which was in turn associated with greater depression.
The findings emphasize the importance of social support, especially family support, and the necessity for health practitioners to provide targeted interventions on both negative and positive aspects of psychological well-being among dementia caregivers and to strengthen caregivers' resources for social support to enhance their well-being. While these findings are cross-sectional, it is logical to assume that those who perceive less support feel that their caregiving responsibilities are more intense, and that intensity could cause the caregiver to withdraw from friends.
照顾患有痴呆症的父母对成年子女的心理健康既有积极影响，也有消极影响，而感知到的社会支持在痴呆症照护过程中起着至关重要的作用。
我们研究了照顾强度的程度如何影响中国成年子女的心理健康，进一步探讨了感知到的社会支持如何影响强度与心理幸福感之间的关系。
2022 年 11 月至 2023 年 1 月期间，在中国昆明进行的横断面研究。
我们对 320 名成年痴呆症照护者进行了访谈。使用 Hayes 过程模型的线性回归和多重中介分析来评估照护强度与心理幸福感之间的关系，以及感知到的社会支持的中介作用。
研究发现，照护强度与抑郁呈正相关，与生活满意度呈负相关。感知到的社会支持不足会加剧这种影响。具体来说，当照护者感知到较少的家庭支持时，他们报告的照护强度更高，这反过来又与照护者的抑郁程度更高和生活满意度更低有关。同样，那些报告照护强度较高的人报告朋友支持较少，这反过来又与更大的抑郁有关。
研究结果强调了社会支持的重要性，特别是家庭支持，以及卫生保健工作者为痴呆症照护者提供心理幸福感的负面和正面方面的针对性干预的必要性，并加强照护者的社会支持资源，以提高他们的幸福感。虽然这些发现是横断面的，但可以合理地假设，那些感知到较少支持的人认为他们的照顾责任更重，而这种强度可能会导致照顾者与朋友疏远。
