Does a Helping Hand Mean a Heavy Heart? Helping Behavior and Well-Being Among Spouse Caregivers

• Published in: Psychology and aging 2010-03, Vol.25 (1), p.108-117
• Main Authors: Poulin, Michael J, Brown, Stephanie L, Ubel, Peter A, Smith, Dylan M, Jankovic, Aleksandra, Langa, Kenneth M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living - psychology; Adaptation, Psychological; Adult. Elderly; Affect; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Assistance (Social Behavior); Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Caregivers; Caregivers - psychology; Caregiving; Carers; Chronic Disease - psychology; Computers, Handheld; Cost of Illness; Couple and family; Dementia - psychology; Dependency (Psychology); Developmental psychology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Happiness; Helping Behavior; Helping behaviour; Human; Humans; Interdependence; Male; Marriage; Middle Aged; Negative affect; Neoplasms - psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - psychology; Quality of life; Quality of Life - psychology; Social psychology; Spouses; Spouses - psychology; Stroke - psychology; Well Being; Wellbeing; Workload - psychology
• ISSN: 0882-7974; 1939-1498
• DOI: 10.1037/a0018064

Being a caregiver for an ill or disabled loved one is widely recognized as a threat to the caregiver's quality of life. Nonetheless, research indicates that helping behavior, broadly construed, promotes well-being. Could helping behavior in a caregiving context promote well-being as well? In the present study, we used ecological momentary assessment to measure active helping behavior and both positive and negative affect in 73 spouse caregivers. Results indicate that when controlling for care recipient illness status and functional impairment and caregiver "on call" caregiving time, active helping predicted greater caregiver positive affect-especially for individuals who perceived themselves as interdependent with their spouse. In addition, although both helping and on-call time predicted greater negative affect for caregivers who perceived low interdependence, helping was unrelated to negative affect among caregivers perceiving high interdependence. Helping valued loved ones may promote caregivers' well-being.