Transition to Caregiving, Marital Disagreement, and Psychological Well-Being

Guided by a life course perspective, this study investigated whether the psychological consequences of transitioning into a caregiver role for a biological parent, parent-in-law, spouse, other kin, or nonkin among married adults might be moderated by marital role quality. Using longitudinal data from a national sample of 1,842 married adults aged 35 years and older, this study estimated regression models examining whether marital disagreement prior to the transition to caregiving predicted differences in change in global happiness and depressive symptoms because of a transition into caregiving. Results indicated that, compared to noncaregivers, new caregivers for a biological parent or spouse experienced both a greater decline in happiness and a greater increase in depressive symptoms when they reported a higher level of marital disagreement. These findings suggest that the psychological effects of becoming a caregiver for a biological parent or spouse among married adults are contingent on marital role quality.

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ARE FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS A PROTECTIVE RESOURCE AMONG ADULTS WITH FUNCTIONAL IMPAIRMENT?

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.2482 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S671-S671

Author(s):

Richard E Chunga ◽

Haowei Wang ◽

Deborah Carr

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Functional Impairment ◽

Family Relationships ◽

Functional Limitation ◽

Well Being ◽

Protective Effects ◽

Psychological Consequences ◽

Men And Women ◽

Stress Buffering

Abstract Health-related declines that affect physical functioning are a common stressor among older adults. Functional impairment can take a toll on older adults’ psychological well-being as it limits one’s capacities to independently carry out meaningful daily activities. The extent to which impairment affects mental health may vary based on the levels of support and strain in one’s personal relationships. Stress buffering perspectives suggest that support mitigates the detrimental psychological consequences of impairment, whereas stress amplification perspectives predict that strain will amplify these consequences. We use data from 2012 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N=3800) to explore: (a) the direct effects of functional limitation on depressive symptoms (CES-D); (b) the extent to which these associations are moderated by spouse, child, other relative, and friend support/strain; and (c) gender and marital status differences therein. Using lagged endogenous regression models, we find that impairment significantly increases depressive symptoms among men and women, and these effects are intensified by marital strain for both married men and women. However, buffering effects are found for women only, such that marital support mitigates against depressive symptoms in the face of current impairment. These results may reflect the gendered nature of marriage, where men with impairment uniformly benefit from marriage although women may experience protective effects of only in highly supportive unions. Results for other strain and support moderators also reveal gender differences, reflecting the distinctive ways that men and women interact with kin and friends over the life course.

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Early Psychological Consequences of the March 11, 2004, Terrorist Attacks in Madrid, Spain

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.97.3.907-920 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 97 (3) ◽

pp. 907-920 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Manuel Muñoz ◽

María Crespo ◽

Eloísa Pérez-Santos ◽

José Juan Vázquez

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Functional Impairment ◽

Psychosocial Functioning ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Item Analysis ◽

Psychological Effects ◽

Terrorist Attacks ◽

Psychological Consequences ◽

Sociodemographic Variables

On March 11, 2004, Al-Qaeda set off 10 bombs on several train routes in Madrid. 192 people were killed and 2,000 wounded. In this study, 1,179 questionnaires were administered Week 2 after the attacks to residents 18 years and over from the affected geographical areas. The questionnaire included items about sociodemographic variables and exposure to the attacks. Psychological effects were assessed as presence of acute stress and depressive symptomatology and functional impairment. 46.7% of the sample presented symptomatology of acute stress and 49.6% depressive symptoms. Among the symptoms of acute stress, the most frequent were re-experiencing (72.5%) and dissociative symptoms (71.8%). The chief predicting variables in symptomatology were being female, over 65 yr. old, and a habitual train user. The large number of affected people was refined with an item analysis and the consideration of severity of interference in psychosocial functioning.

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A Changed America? The Effects of September 11th on Depressive Symptoms and Alcohol Consumption

Journal of Health and Social Behavior ◽

10.1177/002214650504600304 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 260-273 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Hannah K. Knudsen ◽

Paul M. Roman ◽

J. Aaron Johnson ◽

Lori J. Ducharme

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Well Being ◽

September 11 ◽

National Sample ◽

Demographic Characteristics ◽

Terrorist Attacks ◽

September 11Th ◽

Health Consequences

In the weeks following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, social commentators argued that America had profoundly “changed.” In light of these arguments and the literature on disasters, we examine the immediate and longer-term mental health consequences of September 11th using a national sample of fulltime American workers. We model the effects of temporal proximity to the attacks on depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption, while controlling for demographic characteristics. Our data revealed a significant increase in the number of depressive symptoms reported during the 4 weeks after the attacks. In the subsequent weeks, levels of depressive symptoms returned to pre-September 11th levels. Contrary to expectations, there was some indication of decreased alcohol consumption after September 11th, although these effects were modest. These analyses provide little support for popular assertions that September 11th resulted in lasting and measurable impacts on Americans' well-being.

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Dissonant relationships to biological parents and stepparents and the well-being of adult children

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships ◽

10.1177/02654075211031984 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026540752110319

Author(s):

Maaike Hornstra ◽

Matthijs Kalmijn ◽

Katya Ivanova

Keyword(s):

Adult Children ◽

Regression Models ◽

Adult Child ◽

Well Being ◽

Balance Theory ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Biological Parent ◽

Ols Regression ◽

Biological Parents ◽

Parent Child

We examined the importance of adult children’s ties with biological parents and stepparents for well-being in adulthood. We particularly focused on situations in which adult children are not close with the new partner of their biological parent, their stepparent. Following balance theory, it is straining to be in an unbalanced pattern (i.e., close to biological parent, not close to stepparent). Firstly, we studied how many adults are close to their biological parent only (dissonance), to both the biological parent and stepparent (positive consonance), or to neither parent in the stepfamily household (negative consonance). Secondly, we examined if the ties to biological parents and stepparents - as well as, the patterns between the two ties - were associated with the subjective well-being of the adult child. The OKiN data was used, which includes N = 1,477 adults with a stepfather and N = 1,274 adults with a stepmother. OLS regression models suggested that parent-child ties were important for depression and loneliness in adulthood, although associations with stepmother-child ties were insignificant. Moreover, the prevalence of dissonant ties was low, but the consequences for depression and loneliness were considerable. A distant or conflictual stepparent-child tie attenuated the benefits of having a close tie with the biological parent. Consequently, adult children in dissonant patterns are not necessarily better off in terms of well-being than those in negative consonant patterns.

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Childhood Abuse and Caregiving for Perpetrating Parents: Impacts on Adult Child Well-Being

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.1241 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 319-320

Author(s):

Jaime Goldberg ◽

Jooyoung Kong ◽

Sara Moorman

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Childhood Abuse ◽

Adult Child ◽

Well Being ◽

Life Course Perspective ◽

Psychological Resources ◽

Emotional Closeness ◽

Contact Frequency ◽

Adult Child Caregiver ◽

Child Caregiver

Abstract Combining the stress process model of caregiving and life course perspective, this study examined the long-term influences of childhood abuse on perpetrating parent-adult child relationships and adult child well-being in the context of caregiving. Using a sample of family caregivers from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (969 caregivers of mothers; 280 caregivers of fathers), we investigated whether contact frequency and emotional closeness with an abusive parent mediate the longitudinal effects of parental childhood abuse on adult child caregivers’ depressive symptoms and the moderating effects of self-acceptance and mastery on this mediational association. Key findings indicate that maternal childhood abuse may negatively affect emotional closeness between an adult child caregiver and perpetrating mother (b = -0.24, p < .001). This could lead the adult child caregiver to experience increased depressive symptoms (b = 0.02, p < .05). Although the mediation paths for the effect of maternal childhood abuse on depressive symptoms via emotional closeness with mothers did not differ by caregivers’ level of psychological resources, we found that psychological resources significantly moderated the association between maternal childhood abuse and depressive symptoms (b = -0.08, p < .05). Further research may explore this phenomenon in light of the heterogeneity of contemporary families. Practitioners working with adults with a history of parental childhood abuse who are caregiving for their perpetrator are encouraged to employ a trauma-informed approach to maximize the caregivers’ health and well-being.

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Spousal Activity Limitations and Depressive Symptoms: Benefits of Spousal Caregiving and Costs of Spousal Pain

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1138 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 354-354

Author(s):

Sae Hwang Han ◽

Kyungmin Kim ◽

Jeffrey Burr

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Daily Living ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Well Being ◽

Activity Limitations ◽

Spousal Caregiver ◽

Spousal Caregiving ◽

Caregiver Role ◽

Retirement Study

Abstract Experiencing difficulties in performing basic activities of daily living poses significant challenges for older adults living with such limitations and also for their spouses. A growing body of evidence demonstrates cross-spousal linkages between activity limitations and depressive symptoms. However, under what conditions these linkages may be strengthened or weakened has received little attention in the literature. We addressed this gap by examining whether a) providing spousal caregiving and b) spousal pain moderated the link between spousal activity limitations and one’s own depressive symptoms. We used seven waves of longitudinal household data from the Health and Retirement Study (2004-2016; N=12,369) to estimate within-person associations between spousal activity limitations and depressive symptoms, focusing on the moderating roles of caregiving behavior and spousal pain. In particular, asymmetric fixed effects models were used to estimate the unique effects of transitioning into a spousal caregiver role in the context of spousal activity limitations. Results from multilevel models were gendered. For wives (but not for husbands), transitioning into a caregiver role to provide spousal care alleviated depressive symptoms associated with spousal activity limitations, whereas depressive symptoms were increased when husbands with activity limitations also reported frequent, moderate to severe pain. Our findings indicate that the link between spousal activity limitations and depressive symptoms is not uniform, and that the cross-spousal association may best be understood when relevant contextual factors are considered. The findings are also in line with recent studies showing that caregiving may also lead to enhanced well-being and reduced mortality risk under some circumstances.

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Adult Sibling Tension and Older Mothers’ Psychological Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Caregiving

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.351 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 93-93

Author(s):

Megan Gilligan ◽

J Jill Suitor ◽

Yifei Hou ◽

Barbra Brottman ◽

Jeenkyoung Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Adult Children ◽

Family Relationships ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Well Being ◽

Sibling Relationship ◽

Life Course Perspective ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Older Mothers ◽

Adult Sibling

Abstract The life course perspective concept of “linked lives” suggests that the lives of adult children and older parents are interconnected and consequential for the well-being of members of both generations. In this work, we consider the association between tension among adult siblings and older mothers’ psychological well-being. We focus specifically on tension in the adult sibling relationship because research has shown that negative relationship quality is especially consequential for well-being. We consider this association in the context of caregiving because this is a time when offspring are often required to coordinate with each other to provide assistance. We utilized data from 304 older mothers (average age = 78) and 736 of their adult children (average age = 49) from the Within-Family Difference Study (WFDS) II. First, we examined the direct association between adult sibling tension and mothers’ reports of depressive symptoms. Second, we examined whether the association between sibling tension and mothers’ depressive symptoms was moderated by mothers’ need for care. Preliminary results indicated no direct effect of sibling tension on mothers’ depressive symptoms. However, moderation analysis revealed that sibling tension was associated with an increase in mothers’ depressive symptoms among mothers who reported needing assistance. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the interconnected nature of adult family relationships especially in the context of later-life family caregiving. In particular, the findings reveal that older mothers in need of care are especially vulnerable to tension in the relationships among their adult children.

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Analysis of Self-Concept in Older Adults in Different Contexts

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759.20.4.262 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 262-274 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Manuel de Gracia Blanco ◽

Josep Garre Olmo ◽

María Marcó Arbonès ◽

Pilar Monreal Bosch

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Nursing Home ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

External Validity ◽

Aging Process ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Self Concept ◽

Self Perceptions ◽

Discriminatory Capacity

Summary: Self-concept is a construct consisting of a group of specific self-perceptions that are hierarchically organized. Age-associated changes of self-concept are related to the individual's perception of the changes occurring throughout the aging process. The authors examined external validity and internal consistency of an instrument that has been developed to assess self-concept in older adults and examined self-concept's characteristics in two different contexts. Results confirm the multidimensionality of the scale and show a satisfactory external validity, indicating good discriminatory capacity. Findings support the hypothesis that older people who live in a nursing home have a poor self-esteem, self-concept, and psychological well-being and have a greater presence of depressive symptoms than people who live in their own home.

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