Reaping caregiver feelings of gain: the roles of socio-emotional support and mastery.
OBJECTIVE
Existing studies indicate that the presence of social support increases the likelihood of caregivers experiencing feelings of gain from caregiving; however, researchers have not yet investigated the mechanism through which social support is linked to caregiver feelings of gain. Informed by Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, the present study investigated whether a sense of caregiving mastery serves as a key mechanism.


METHODS
Sixty-three family caregivers of dependent elders completed surveys to assess caregiver feelings of gain, socio-emotional support (from family, friends, spouse/partner) and mastery. To evaluate the hypothesized mediation model, a series of structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were conducted with the maximum likelihood method by Lisrel 8.8.


RESULTS
Socio-emotional support from family members was found to be an important resource for caregiver feelings of gain. SEM analyses further revealed that the mechanisms by which socio-emotional support influences caregiver feelings of gain vary depending on its source (i.e. family members, friends, and partners).


CONCLUSIONS
As hypothesized, caregiving mastery played a mediating role for non-partner family socio-emotional support whereas it did not for partner socio-emotional support. Based on availability or absence of specific sources of support, caregiver intervention programs should be individually tailored to enhance their potential impact.
Shirai
Yumi
Y
Division of Family Studies and Human Development, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. yumish@email.arizona.edu
Silverberg Koerner
Susan
S
Baete Kenyon
Denyelle
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001130:Arizona; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011594:Psychometrics; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult