Agapitos Marie, Muniz-Terrera Graciela, Robitaille Annie
Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Ohio University (Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine), Athens, OH, USA.
Eur J Ageing. 2024 Jul 19;21(1):21. doi: 10.1007/s10433-024-00816-y.
The prevalence of informal caregiving is increasing as populations across the world age. Caregiving has been found to be associated with poor mental health outcomes including depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study is to examine the mean trajectory of depressive symptomatology in older caregivers in a large European sample over an eight-year period, the effects of time-varying and time-invariant covariates on this trajectory, and the mean trajectory of depressive symptomatology according to pattern of caregiving. The results suggest that depressive symptoms in the full sample of caregivers follow a nonlinear trajectory characterized by an initial decrease which decelerates over time. Caregiver status and depressive symptoms were significantly associated such that depressive symptoms increased as a function of caregiver status. The trajectory in caregivers who report intermittent or consecutive occasions of caregiving remained stable over time. Significant associations were found between sociodemographic, health and caregiving characteristics and the initial levels and rates of change of these trajectories. While these results point to the resilience of caregivers, they also highlight the factors that are related to caregivers' adaptation over time. This can help in identifying individuals who may require greater supports and, in turn, ensuring that caregivers preserve their well-being.
随着世界各地人口老龄化，非正式照料的比例正在上升。研究发现，照料与包括抑郁症状在内的不良心理健康结果有关。本研究的目的是在一个大型欧洲样本中，考察老年照料者在八年时间里抑郁症状的平均轨迹、随时间变化和不随时间变化的协变量对该轨迹的影响，以及根据照料模式划分的抑郁症状平均轨迹。结果表明，照料者全样本中的抑郁症状呈非线性轨迹，其特征是最初下降，随后下降速度随时间减缓。照料者状态与抑郁症状显著相关，抑郁症状随照料者状态而增加。报告有间歇性或连续性照料情况的照料者的轨迹随时间保持稳定。在社会人口学、健康和照料特征与这些轨迹的初始水平和变化率之间发现了显著关联。虽然这些结果表明照料者具有恢复力，但它们也突出了与照料者随时间适应相关的因素。这有助于识别可能需要更多支持的个体，进而确保照料者保持自身的幸福感。
