scholarly journals The Caregiver Identity in Context: The Consequences of Identity Threat From Siblings

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 513-514
Author(s):  
Marissa Rurka ◽  
J Jill Suitor ◽  
Megan Gilligan
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Identity Threat ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Indirect Relationship ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Although siblings represent central members of the networks of caregivers’ and their parents, there has been limited attention to how siblings affect one another’s well-being during caregiving. In this paper, we draw from theories of identity and stress to examine the impact that siblings have on caregivers’ psychological well-being. Specifically, we employ a mixed-methods approach to explore whether caregivers’ perceptions that their siblings are critical of the care they provide their mother are associated with higher depressive symptoms, as well as the mechanisms underlying this association. Using quantitative data collected from 406 caregivers nested within 230 families as part of the Within-Family Differences Study, we conduct mediation analyses to examine whether perceived sibling criticisms affect caregivers’ depressive symptoms (a) directly, and/or (b) indirectly through sibling tension. We then analyze qualitative data collected from the same caregivers to gain insight into the processes underlying statistical associations. Quantitative analyses revealed that there was no direct relationship between perceived sibling criticisms and depressive symptoms; there was, however, an indirect relationship such that perceived sibling criticisms were associated with greater sibling tension, which in turn was associated with higher depressive symptoms. These quantitative findings were corroborated by qualitative analyses, which demonstrated that, in an effort to maintain their identity as a “good caregiver” despite sibling criticisms, caregivers often employed strategies that may have fueled tension in their sibling relationships. These findings highlight the importance of considering how the sibling networks in which caregivers are embedded shape their psychological well-being.

scholarly journals The Caregiver Identity in Context: Consequences of Identity Threat From Siblings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marissa Rurka ◽  
J Jill Suitor ◽  
Megan Gilligan
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Family Networks ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Identity Processes ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Indirect Relationship ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives Although siblings represent central members of the networks of caregivers and their parents, there has been limited attention to how siblings affect one another’s well-being during caregiving. In this article, we draw from theories of identity and stress to examine the impact that siblings have on caregivers’ psychological well-being. Specifically, we employ a mixed-methods approach to explore whether caregivers’ perceptions that their siblings are critical of the care they provide their mother are associated with higher depressive symptoms and the mechanisms underlying this association. Methods Using quantitative data collected from 404 caregivers nested within 231 families as part of the Within-Family Differences Study, we conduct mediation analyses to examine whether perceived sibling criticisms are associated with caregivers’ depressive symptoms (a) directly and/or (b) indirectly through sibling tension. We then analyze qualitative data collected from the same caregivers to gain insight into the processes underlying statistical associations. Results Quantitative analyses revealed that there was no direct relationship between perceived sibling criticisms and depressive symptoms; there was, however, an indirect relationship such that perceived sibling criticisms were associated with greater sibling tension, which in turn was associated with higher depressive symptoms. These quantitative findings were corroborated by qualitative analyses, which demonstrated that, in an effort to mitigate the negative impact of sibling criticisms, caregivers often employed strategies that may have fueled sibling tension. Discussion These findings demonstrate how identity processes, as well as the family networks in which caregiving takes place, shape the experiences and consequences of parent care.

scholarly journals Loving Others: The Impact of Compassionate Love on Later-Life Psychological Well-Being

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 480-481
Author(s):  
Eva Kahana ◽  
Tirth Bhatta ◽  
Boaz Kahana ◽  
Nirmala Lekhak
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Compassionate Love ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Existing scholarship in social gerontology has surprisingly paid little attention to broader loving emotions, such as compassionate and altruistic love, as potentially meaningful mechanisms for improving later life psychological well-being. This study examined the influence of feeling love toward other persons and experiencing love from others on later life psychological well-being. We conducted a 3-wave longitudinal study of a representative sample of 340 ethnically heterogeneous community dwelling older residents of Miami, Florida. The increase in feeling of being loved (β=-1.53, p<0.001) and love for others (β=-1.43, p<0.001) led to decline in odds of reporting greater level of depressive symptoms over time. The odds of reporting higher level of positive affect were significantly greater for older adults who reported feeling loved by others (β=1.16, p<0.001) and expressed love for other people (β=1.18, p<0.01). Older adults who felt loved had 0.92-point lower ordered log odds of reporting higher negative affect than those who reported lower level of love. The impact of compassionate love on depressive symptoms and negative affect remained statistically significant even after adjustment for altruistic attitudes and emotional support. The influence of loving emotions on positive affect was, however, explained by altruistic attitudes and emotional support. Our findings underscore the powerful influence of both receiving and giving love for the maintenance of later life psychological well-being. We offer support for the expectation that love is a significant force in the lives of older adults that transcends intimate relationships.

scholarly journals How Gender Shapes the Effects of Immediate Family Members’ Deaths on Adults’ Psychological Well-Being

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 93-93
Author(s):  
J Jill Suitor ◽  
Megan Gilligan ◽  
Catherine Stepniak ◽  
Yifei Hou ◽  
Robert Frase
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Time Since Death ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
The Face ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The deaths of family members constitute one of the most serious negative life events experienced in adulthood. The impact of these losses on psychological well-being may differ considerably by the structural relationship between the deceased and the survivors, and by the genders of both family members; however, few studies have been able to explore these variations by generation, gender, and time since death. In this paper, we use mixed-methods data to explore how depressive symptoms are affected differentially in adulthood by the deaths of mothers, fathers, and siblings, as well as by the gender of survivors. We address these questions using data collected from approximately 600 adult children nested within 250 later-life families, in which approximately 55% experienced the death of at least one parent and 15% experienced the death of a sibling in the previous decade. Preliminary multilevel regression analyses showed that deaths of siblings predicted sisters’ but not brothers’ depressive symptoms. In the case of parents, only mothers’ deaths were found to predict daughters’ depressive symptoms, whereas neither parents’ deaths predicted sons’ well-being. Further, these patterns differed little by time since death. Qualitative data revealed that women were more likely to report that both their mothers’ and siblings’ deaths had led to higher conflict within the sibling network, which previous research has shown predicts psychological well-being. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the salient role of gender in shaping well-being in the face of events of deaths of parents and siblings in adulthood.

scholarly journals A Scoping Review of the Examination of Sandwiched Caregivers’ Psychological Well-being and Physical Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 814-814
Author(s):  
Barbara Hodgdon ◽  
Jen D Wong ◽  
Patricia S Pittman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Care Recipients ◽  
The Impact

Abstract As numbers of sandwiched caregivers in the United States grow, it is essential to document the literature on the impact of dual care responsibilities on aspects of psychological well-being and physical health. This scoping review examined the literature on sandwiched caregivers’ psychological well-being and physical health, identified gaps in the literature, and provided suggestions for future studies to advance the literature on sandwiched caregivers in the United States. Guided by the Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework, this scoping review comprised of 15 peer-reviewed articles between 1980 and 2019, that examined aspects of the psychological well-being (e.g., depression, affect) and physical health (e.g., health behaviors, chronic conditions) of sandwiched caregivers in the United States. Findings showed that there was ambiguity surrounding the conceptualization of sandwiched caregivers, specifically how older and younger care recipients were defined. Also, most studies examined psychological well-being while physical health was understudied. The findings of this review also showed that, compared to non-sandwiched caregivers (e.g., spousal, filial caregivers) and non-caregivers, sandwiched caregivers exhibited greater depressive symptoms and psychological distress as well as poorer health behaviors. Furthermore, sandwiched caregivers who were female and employed were more susceptible to greater depressive symptoms than their employed male counterparts or employed non-caregivers. In considering future directions, more work is needed that examines physical health. Additionally, sandwiched caregivers of minority status merit attention as multigenerational care occurs at greater rates in these populations. Finally, caregiving during the pandemic may have a detrimental impact on sandwiched caregivers’ lives which should be investigated.

scholarly journals Loving Others: The Impact of Compassionate Love on Later-Life Psychological Well-being

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Kahana ◽  
Tirth R Bhatta ◽  
Boaz Kahana ◽  
Nirmala Lekhak
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Compassionate Love ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Objectives Existing scholarship in social gerontology has paid relatively little attention to broader loving emotions, such as compassionate and altruistic love, as potentially meaningful mechanisms for improving later-life psychological well-being outside a family framework. Method Drawing from a 3-wave longitudinal survey of community-dwelling older residents (n = 334) of Miami, Florida, we utilized generalized estimating equation models to examine the influence of changes in compassionate love (i.e., feeling love toward other persons and experiencing love from others) on depressive symptoms over time. We also explored cross-sectional relationship between compassionate love and positive and negative affects. Results An increase in the feeling of being loved (β = −0.77, p < .001) and feeling love for others (β = −0.78, p < .001) led to a decline in odds of reporting greater levels of depressive symptoms over time. The odds of reporting higher level of positive affect were significantly greater for older adults who reported feeling loved by others (β = .63, p < .001) and expressed love for other people (β = 0.43, p < .05). Older adults who felt loved and expressed love for other people, respectively, had 0.71 and 0.54-point lower ordered log odds of reporting higher negative affect than those who reported lower levels of love. The statistically significant impact of feeling loved on all well-being outcomes was maintained even after adjustment for altruistic attitudes and emotional support. Except for depressive symptoms, such adjustments explained the positive influence of love for others on well-being outcomes. Discussion Our findings underscore the powerful influence of both receiving and giving loving emotions for the maintenance of later-life psychological well-being.

scholarly journals Impact of Psychological Empowerment on Job Performance of Teachers: Mediating Role of Psychological Well-being.

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisar Ahmed ◽  
Beenish Malik
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Psychological Empowerment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: This study was carried out to investigate the impact of psychological empowerment and psychological well-being on the performance of teachers and to explore the effect of psychological well-being as a mediator between psychological empowerment and performance. Research Design/Methodology: Convenience sampling was used to collect data from 261 secondary school teachers through a survey questionnaire in this cross-sectional study. The collected data was statistically analyzed by using SPSS software 23. Coefficient correlation, multiple regression and mediation analyses were carried out in pursuance of study objectives. Findings: it was found that psychological empowerment and well-being were significantly and positively related to job performance of teachers. Moreover, results showed that psychological well-being partially mediated the relationship between psychological empowerment and well-being. Practical Implications: When teachers perceive higher level of psychological factors (viz. psychological empowerment & well-being), they perform better. Therefore, it is essential for administrators and executives to attend to psychological factors of teachers in order to increase their performance.

scholarly journals Intergenerational Relationships, Social Support, and Psychological Well-Being Among Korean Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 498-498
Author(s):  
Yooumi Lee ◽  
Janet Wilmoth
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being

Abstract This study investigates whether intergenerational relationships and social support improve the psychological well-being of Korean older adults. We examine whether intergenerational relationships and social support directly influence psychological well-being and the extent to which they mediate the distressing consequences of life events such as declining health and recent widowhood. Using longitudinal data from the 2006 to 2016 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, we explore depression trajectories among individuals who are 60 or older with at least one living adult child at baseline. Specifically, we converted data from 5,383 older adults into a person-period file with 24,726 observations over a ten-year period. Then we estimated linear growth curve models of depression trajectories separately for men and women using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results from the hierarchical linear models indicate that declining health and recent widowhood are positively related to depressive symptoms. Satisfactory intergenerational relationships and social support in the form of personal interactions and proximate living arrangements with adult children decrease depressive symptoms of older parents, especially among women. We conclude that the psychological benefits of intergenerational relationships and social support are contingent upon the vulnerability of older adults and discuss the implications for public policy.

scholarly journals The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and its Lockdown Measures on the Mental and Functional Health of Older Individuals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Chiara Fastame ◽  
Ilaria Mulas ◽  
Valeria Putzu ◽  
Gesuina Asoni ◽  
Daniela Viale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Cognitive Deterioration ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Healthy Participants

AbstractThe effect of the COVID-19 on the physical and mental health of Italian older individuals displaying signs of cognitive deterioration has not been deeply investigated. This longitudinal study examined the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on the psychological well-being and motor efficiency of a sample of Italian community-dwellers with and without cognitive decline. Forty-seven participants underwent instrumental gait analysis performed in ecological setting using wearable sensors, and completed a battery of tasks assessing cognitive functioning and psychological well-being, before and after the full lockdown due to the COVID-19 spreading. A series of Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVAs) documented that the superior gait performance of the cognitively healthy participants exhibited before the COVID-19 spread, vanished when they were tested at the end of the lockdown period. Moreover, before the outbreak of the COVID-19, cognitively healthy participants and those with signs of cognitive decline reported similar levels of psychological well-being, whereas, after the lockdown, the former group reported better coping, emotional competencies, and general well-being than the participants displaying signs of cognitive decline. In conclusion, the full COVID-19 outbreak had a significant impact on the mental and motor functioning of older individuals with and without signs of cognitive deterioration living in Italy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document