The caregiver stress theory proposes that both depression and stress perceived by the caregiver are coping mechanisms, and that depression is the emotional part of the cognitive subsystem and the immediate result of the stress perceived by the caregiver. Depression is associated with adaptive modes to varying degrees. Stressful life events can have an additional impact on caregivers' health, in addition to the provision of chronic care. The hours of In-home Care in Bethesda MD and the stress perceived by the caregiver were expected to play an important role.on caregiver results.
Stressful life events, social support, age and gender were background variables and were expected to influence caregiver outcomes through caregiver stress. The stress perceived by the caregiver was measured with an element asking how much stress the caregiver felt about caring for or organizing the care of the elderly relative. Depression was conceptualized as a mediator between caregiver stress and other chronic care outcomes (physical function, self-esteem, and marital satisfaction). Many caregivers of chronically ill family members suffer from stress and its consequences, and in an aging society, more and more people will see each other affected by stress.
The model derived from the data represented 6%, 10%, 57%, 40%, and 11% of the variance in the caregiver's perception of stress, depression, physical function, self-esteem, and marital satisfaction, respectively. Depression was expected to mediate the relationship between perceived stress and chronic care outcomes (physical function, self-esteem, and marital satisfaction). It can also be argued that caregivers face many problems in addition to the burden of providing care, and that the impact of providing chronic care can be diluted due to daily stressors or concurrent stressful life events. However, caregivers in the first wave achieved significantly lower self-esteem scores than those in the second wave (16.02).
vs. The model derived from the data suggested that age had an indirect effect on the caregiver's perception of stress, through hours of care. Stressful life events failed to predict the stress perceived by the caregiver; instead, stressful life events predicted caregivers' outcomes through depression. This study tested a hypothetical model that proposed that hours of care, stressful life events, social support, age and sex could predict caregiver outcomes through the stress perceived by caregivers.
Therefore, older caregivers in this sample were likely to take on more hours of care than younger caregivers, creating more stress for caregivers. The model derived from the data showed that, as expected, depression mediated the relationship between stress perceived by the caregiver and self-esteem and marital satisfaction. Therefore, the relationship between hours of care and stress perceived by the caregiver may not be as clear in providing long-term care as it is in providing short-term care to a seriously ill family member.
