Abstract
BackgroundThe burden of caring for an older adult can be a form of stress and influence caregivers’ daily lives and health. Previous studies have reported that resilience and social support play an important role in reducing physical and psychological burden in caregivers. Thus, the present study aimed to examine whether perceived social support served as a possible protective factor of burden among caregivers of older adults in Singapore using moderation and mediation effects’ models.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study with 285 caregivers providing care to older adults aged 60 years and above who were diagnosed with physical and/or mental illness in Singapore. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) was used to measure resilience and burden was measured by the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was used to measure perceived social support. Hayes’ PROCESS macro was used to test moderation and mediation effects of perceived social support in the relationship between resilience and burden after controlling for sociodemographic variables. Indirect effects were tested using bootstrapped confidence intervals (CI).ResultsThe mean scores observed were CD-RISC: 70.8/100 (SD = 15.1), MSPSS: 62.2/84 (SD = 12.2), and ZBI: 23.2/88 (SD = 16.0) respectively. While perceived social support served as a full mediator between resilience and caregiver burden (β = − 0.14, 95% CI -0.224 to − 0.072, p < 0.05), it did not show a significant moderating effect.ConclusionsPerceived social support mediates the association between resilience and caregiver burden among caregivers of older adults in Singapore. It is crucial for healthcare professionals, particularly those who interact and deliver services to assist caregivers, to promote and identify supportive family and friends’ network that may help to address caregiver burden.
Highlights
The burden of caring for an older adult can be a form of stress and influence caregivers’ daily lives and health
Two hundred eighty five informal caregivers who were providing care to an older adult with or without physical and/or mental illness completed the questionnaire. These participants were either referred by the psychiatrists treating care recipients at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), or had participated in a previous study titled the Well-being of the Singapore (WiSE) study as an informant, and given their consent at that time to be re-contacted to participate in future research studies [40]
We found that the significant association between resilience and caregiver burden was mediated by the level of perceived social support
Summary
The burden of caring for an older adult can be a form of stress and influence caregivers’ daily lives and health. With technological advancements and vast improvements in healthcare services, the world’s population of older adults aged 60 years and above is expected to reach 2 billion by 2050 [1]. This rising figure implies an increasing burden and unmet need of informal caregivers of older adults [2]. Informal caregivers who are largely family members usually assist with basic and instrumental activities of daily living for older adults with common medical conditions associated with ageing such as dementia [3], and cancer [4]. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance in the United States, the cost
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