Relationships between Caregiving Stress, Depression, and Self-Esteem in Family Caregivers of Adults with a Disability

Deokju Kim

doi:10.1155/2017/1686143

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationships between caregiving stress, depression, and self-esteem of family caregivers of an adult person with a disability and to identify their effects on their caregiving burden. The study was performed with 108 care providers of adult people with a disability who visited hospital rehabilitation centers. Caregiving stress showed a significant positive correlation with depression and with economic and psychological stress, and it showed a significant negative correlation with self-esteem. When the care provider was aged, female, and without a job and the caregiving cost and time were higher, the caregiving stress was high. When the care provider was female and had a lower income, the depression index was high. When the person with a disability was male and in the forties and the level of disability was higher, the caregiving stress was high. When the disability was related to spinal cord damage, the care provider's depression index was the highest. To reduce caregiving stress and depression in the family caregivers and to improve their self-esteem, continuous support and help from specialists are necessary. Additionally, a variety of intervention programs need to be designed to motivate them to participate regularly at the community level.

Highlights

According to surveys, the disabled population has continued to grow, with 3.09% in 2000, 4.59% in 2005, and 5.61% in 2011 [1]
The general characteristics of the adults with a disability were as follows: the 70 years or older age group was the largest (35.9%); the most common type of disability was brain stroke (63.3%), followed by spinal cord injury (17.3%), traumatic brain injury (10.2%), and other bodily injuries (9.2%); the distribution as per the grade of the disability was as follows: Grade 1 (50.0%), Grade 3 or higher (29.6%), and Grade 2 (20.4%); and the distribution as per duration of disability was as follows: less than 1 year (44.9%), 1 to 3 years (26.9%), and 10 years or longer (14.3%) (Table 2)
This study was designed to examine the relationships between the caregiving stress, depression, and self-esteem experienced by family caregivers of an adult patient with a disability and to understand the factors influencing caregiving stress to help relieve the burden on the caregivers

Summary

Introduction

The disabled population has continued to grow, with 3.09% in 2000, 4.59% in 2005, and 5.61% in 2011 [1]. A person with a disability often has no choice but to rely on his/her family. Many preceding studies have reported that family caregivers of a person with a disability experience deterioration in mental and physical health due to stress [2, 3]. Addressing familial burdens arising from an increasing population of the elderly and of patients with chronic diseases, Goodman and Punoos [4] called family caregivers who care for a patient for a long period a “second victim” and the family of a person with a chronic disease a “potential patient.”. Issues around the presence of disability within a family are not just limited to the person with the disability, but they concern the whole family as the mental and financial burden are shared and care is provided as per the level of severity of the disability [5] Addressing familial burdens arising from an increasing population of the elderly and of patients with chronic diseases, Goodman and Punoos [4] called family caregivers who care for a patient for a long period a “second victim” and the family of a person with a chronic disease a “potential patient.” Issues around the presence of disability within a family are not just limited to the person with the disability, but they concern the whole family as the mental and financial burden are shared and care is provided as per the level of severity of the disability [5]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion