title: The role of religion/spirituality in coping with caregiving for disabled elders.
abstract: This study examined how religious/spiritual coping was related to specific conditions of caregiving and psychological distress among 127 informal caregivers to community-residing disabled elders. Support was found for the hypothesis that religious/spiritual coping influences caregiver distress indirectly through the quality of the relationship between caregiver and care recipient. Caregivers who used religious or spiritual beliefs to cope with caregiving had a better relationship with care recipients, which was associated with lower levels of depression and role submersion.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Quality, Outcomes, and Economic Research, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital, Bedford, MA 01730, USA. bhchang@bu.edu
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Noonan
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Tennstedt
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000523:psychology*; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D008875:Middle Aged; D012069:Religion and Psychology