title: Relationships among perceived burden, depressive cognitions, resourcefulness, and quality of life in female relatives of seriously mentally ill adults.
abstract: Providing care and support to a seriously mentally ill (SMI) family member can have deleterious effects on one's health and quality of life. This study explored relationships among perceived burden, depressive cognitions, resourcefulness, and quality of life in 60 African-American and Caucasian women family members of SMI adults. Caucasians reported greater burden than African-Americans; the groups were similar in depressive cognitions, resourcefulness, and quality of life. In Caucasians and African-Americans, burden correlated with depressive cognitions and both correlated with poorer mental health. In African-Americans, burden also correlated with lower personal resourcefulness and both correlated with poorer mental health. The findings suggest a mediating role by depressive cognitions for both groups and by resourcefulness in African-Americans. Thus, both groups of women may benefit from positive thinking while African-Americans also may benefit from learning personal resourcefulness skills.
authors.affiliation: Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4904, USA. jaz@case.edu
authors.forename: Jaclene A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zauszniewski
authors.forename: Abir K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Bekhet
authors.forename: M Jane
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Suresky
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D003071:Cognition; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires