Caregiving burden among informal caregivers of people with disability

• Published in: British journal of health psychology 2020-09, Vol.25 (3), p.790-813
• Main Authors: Sit, Hao Fong, Huang, Lei, Chang, Kay, Chau, Wai I, Hall, Brian J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Aging; Anxiety; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; Asian cultural groups; Caregiver burden; Caregivers; Caregivers - psychology; Caregiving; caregiving burden; Child; Coping; Coping strategies; Cost of Illness; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cultural values; depression; Disability; Disabled Persons - statistics & numerical data; external coping; Health status; Help seeking behavior; Humans; informal caregiver; internal coping; Learning disabled people; Mental depression; Mental Health; Mental health services; Reliance; Stress, Psychological - diagnosis; Stress, Psychological - psychology
• ISSN: 1359-107X; 2044-8287
• DOI: 10.1111/bjhp.12434

Objective 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. Design 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. Methods DASS‐21, Caregiving Burden Inventory (CBI), Perceived Difficulty Scale (PD), and a modified Chinese Coping Scale were used. Multiple regression analyses were conducted. Results 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. Conclusion 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.