scholarly journals Changes in Social Engagement for Incident Caregivers Compared to Controls

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 659-659
Author(s):  
Chelsea Liu ◽  
Marcela Blinka ◽  
Chanee Fabius ◽  
Virginia Howard

Abstract Maintaining social engagement is important for the health and well-being of older adults who become caregivers. We assessed the association between incident caregiving and leisure satisfaction as well as the 10-year change in social network size among 245 incident caregivers and 248 matched controls. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to adjust for age, gender, race, education level, income, and geographic region. Compared to controls, incident caregivers had significantly lower levels of leisure satisfaction (p<0.01) and greater declines in total social network size (p<0.01). Incident caregivers and controls did not differ on the change in the number of social network members contacted monthly. Among incident caregivers, dementia caregivers and spouse caregivers had lower leisure satisfaction compared to non-dementia caregivers and non-spouse caregivers, respectively, but no differences were found on social network measures. Future studies should further examine social engagement among caregivers and its influence on their health outcomes.

2020 ◽  
pp. 089826432096194
Author(s):  
Chelsea Liu ◽  
Chanee D. Fabius ◽  
Virginia J. Howard ◽  
William E. Haley ◽  
David L. Roth

Objectives:We aimed to compare incident family caregivers and matched controls on change in social network variables and satisfaction with social activities. Methods: A total of 479 participants from the Caregiving Transitions Study were included in the analysis, 244 (50.9%) of whom began substantial and sustained caregiving between baseline and follow-up interviews. We assessed associations between incident caregiving and change in social network size, change in monthly social contact, and satisfaction with social activities. Results: Incident caregivers reported lower satisfaction with social activities and greater decline in social network size than controls. Among only the caregivers, dementia caregivers reported greater decline in social network size while caregivers who were spouses, experienced higher strain, and provided more hours of care reported lower satisfaction with social activities. Discussion: Social engagement declined more among incident caregivers than controls. Future studies should aim to understand why subgroups of caregivers reported lower social engagement.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Hall

Abstract. This multistudy investigation examines how entrapment, which is the guilt, anxiety, or stress to respond and be available to others via mobile devices, shapes and is shaped by patterns of mobile use. Using structural equation modeling on cross-sectional survey responses, Study 1 (N = 300) tested relationships among offline social network size, voice and text frequency, entrapment, and well-being. Offline social network size was associated with text message frequency, and both were indirectly associated with lower subjective well-being via entrapment. Study 2 used experience sampling to confirm associations among entrapment, texting, and well-being. Participants (N = 112) reported on face-to-face, phone, and text interactions five times a day for 5 consecutive days (n = 1,879). Multilevel modeling results indicated that beginning-of-week entrapment was associated with more interactions with acquaintances and strangers, and with reporting lower affective well-being and relatedness when interacting via text. Well-being reported during text interactions and number of interactions with acquaintances and strangers during the week both predicted changes in entrapment by the week’s end. Change in entrapment was associated with lower subjective well-being at the week’s end. Results suggest that entrapment is associated with using texting to maintain larger networks of social relationships, potentially stressing individuals’ capacity to maintain less close relationships via mobile communication.


Author(s):  
Chiungjung Huang

This meta-analysis examines the correlations of the number of social network site (SNS) friends with well-being and distress, based on 90 articles consisting of 98 independent samples on correlations of online social network size (OSNS) with happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, combined anxiety and depression, loneliness, social anxiety, social loneliness, well-being and distress. The correlations between OSNS and well-being indicators are positively weak (from .06 to .15), whereas those for distress indicators are inconclusive (from -.19 to .08). Studies recording the OSNS based on the participant profile have larger mean effect sizes for well-being (.21) and self-esteem (.31) than those based on self-reporting (.06 and .05, respectively). The correlation between OSNS and self-esteem is stronger in samples with a smaller mean network size.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 254-254
Author(s):  
Chelsea Liu ◽  
Victoria Marino ◽  
Virginia Howard ◽  
William Haley ◽  
David Roth

Abstract Positive aspects of caregiving (PAC) are positive appraisals that caregivers report about their role such as feeling appreciated or important, and may increase with caregiver adaptation over time. We aimed to examine differences in PAC by caregiving duration and social engagement, controlling for measures of distress. A total of 283 African American or White caregivers from the Caregiving Transitions Study with a wide range of caregiving durations were included in our analysis. We used multivariable linear regressions to model total PAC score on years of caregiving and social engagement (social network, monthly social contact), adjusting for age, sex, race, marital status, relationship to care recipient, dementia status of care recipient and measures of distress (depressive symptoms, perceived stress, caregiving strain). Caregivers with higher social engagement reported significantly higher PAC while caregivers with longer duration of care reported marginally higher PAC in most analytic models. African American caregivers reported higher PAC compared to White caregivers. Dementia caregivers reported lower PAC than non-dementia caregivers in models that adjusted for demographic variables and social network size, but the association was attenuated with the addition of caregiving strain. In summary, higher social engagement and longer care duration were associated with higher PAC after adjusting for demographic variables and measures of distress. Future studies should aim to understand how caregivers shift appraisal to positive aspects of their role and explore implementation of interventions targeting PAC in order to improve the caregiving experience.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 658-658
Author(s):  
David Roth ◽  
Steven Zarit

Abstract Taking on caregiving responsibilities for older adult family members with disabilities is often considered to be a highly stressful experience that may adversely affect the health of caregivers. However, the vast majority of studies in this area compare existing samples of caregivers with questionably matched non-caregiving controls. In this symposium, we will present findings for a population-based sample of persons who became family caregivers while participating in a longitudinal epidemiological study. Changes in health and well-being are compared between these caregivers and non-caregiving control participants who were matched on multiple demographic and pre-caregiving health history variables. All persons enrolled as caregivers were providing sustained and substantial caregiving assistance. Presentations will include 1) a descriptive overview of the screening, eligibility, and enrollment methods used to construct these unique, population-based samples; 2) comparisons of within-person changes on measures of self-reported health and well-being for dementia and non-dementia caregivers; 3) changes in the caregivers’ social networks, social engagement, and leisure time activities; 4) comparisons of longitudinal changes on circulating inflammatory biomarkers (e.g., IL-6, CRP, TNF alpha receptor 1) and cellular aging (telomere length); and 5) examinations of individual differences in caregiver outcomes using a stress process model. Becoming a family caregiver can be stressful, but the opportunity to help a loved one and the related feelings of purpose and deepening family connections may also promote resilience and enhance health. These questions are far from resolved, and rigorous, prospective, population-based studies like the Caregiving Transitions Study promise to provide compelling new insights.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 301-321
Author(s):  
Megan L. Robbins ◽  
Alexander Karan ◽  
Ashley K. Randall

The present study used an ecologically-valid approach to address the lack of understanding of similarities and differences in social network size and social interaction quality, and links to affect, among same- and different-gender couples. People in couples who self-identified as a woman with a woman ( n = 48), man with a man ( n = 40), woman with a man ( n = 33), and man with a woman ( n = 33) completed a single measure of social network size, and momentary assessments of social interaction quality and affect throughout their days over two weekends. Women reported lower interaction quality, less positive, and more negative affect (actor effects); similar results were also found for those who were partnered with a woman (partner effects). However, results showed an interaction of actor and partner gender, such that people in different-gender couples experienced lower interaction quality, less positive, and more negative affect than same-gender couples. Overall, results provide preliminary evidence of a honing framework, where people in same-gender couples hone their social networks down to high-quality interaction partners, more than people in different-gender couples, and experience similar links between social interactions and affect compared to people in different-gender couples.


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