Caregiver stressors and depressive symptoms among older husbands and wives in the United States.
Framed by Pearlin's Stress Process Model, this study prospectively examines the effects of primary stress factors reflecting the duration, amount, and type of care on the depressive symptoms of spousal caregivers over a2-year period, and whether the effects of stressors differ between husbands and wives. Data are from the 2004 and 2006 waves of the Health and Retirement Study and we included community-dwelling respondents providing activities of daily life (ADL) and/or instrumental activities of daily life (IADL) help to their spouses/partners (N = 774). Results from multivariate regression models indicate that none of the primary stressors were associated with depressive symptoms. However, wives providing only personal care had significantly more depressive symptoms than wives providing only instrumental care, while husbands providing different types of care showed no such differences. To illuminate strategies for reducing the higher distress experienced by wife caregivers engaged in personal care assistance, further studies are needed incorporating couples' relational dynamics and gendered experiences in personal care.
a School of Social Work , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA.
Min Hee
MH
Kim
a School of Social Work , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA.
Ruth E
RE
Dunkle
b School of Social Work , University of Maryland , Baltimore , Maryland , USA.
Amanda J
AJ
Lehning
c School of Social Work , University of Missouri-St. Louis , St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
Huei-Wern
HW
Shen
a School of Social Work , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA.
Sheila
S
Feld
a School of Social Work , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA.
Angela K
AK
Perone
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000523:psychology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States
Depressive symptoms; Pearlin’s Stress Process Model (PSPM); spousal caregiving