‘Why should I feel guilty? I always give my best’. Guilt in Spanish women caring for dependent relatives from a gender perspective

Abstract

Objectives The sense of guilt in informal caregivers has been associated with lower levels of overall life-satisfaction, an increase in feelings of overwork, stress, and health problems, including anxiety and depression. Even though women who care for dependent relatives have higher levels of feelings of guilt than male caregivers, little research has been done on the dynamics of guilt from a gender perspective. This study examines the dynamics of this moral emotion in women caregivers’ psychosocial health. Methods This study is based on semi-structured interviews with nineteen Spanish women who are informal caregivers looking after dependent family members. The interviews were subsequently transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. Results Three themes emerged from qualitative analysis: first, doing more for the people being cared for than for oneself; secondly, being demanding on oneself; and thirdly, controlling one’s own desires. Conclusion The results show dynamics of self-control that seem to function as mechanisms for the women caregivers to avoid feelings of guilt, but at the price of taking on greater caring responsibilities, denying their own desires, and endangering their psychosocial health. We consider that intervention to help women reduce anticipatory guilt is essential, as these feelings put women caregivers’ psychosocial health at risk.