ABSTRACT

Caregivers are responsible for the care of another, such as a young adult, disabled child, elderly parent, or sick spouse. Individuals who have caregiving responsibilities must blend the often-contradictory behavioural expectations from the different roles in which they reside. Building on the theoretical foundations of Conservation of Resources theory, this study tests a mediational model explicating the process through which caregiver burden impacts mental health through work-family conflict among a community sample of 1,007 unpaid caregivers in the greater Chicago area who responded to a mail survey at three time points. Structural equation modelling analyses indicate strain-based conflict as being a consistent mediator between caregiver burden and mental health at baseline and two years later. These findings can inform practice and policy for workers with caregiving responsibilities.

摘要

照顾者负责照顾他人，例如年轻人、残疾儿童、年迈的父母或生病的配偶。负有照料责任的个人必须融合他们所处的不同角色的经常相互矛盾的行为期望。本研究以资源保护理论的理论基础为基础，测试了一个中介模型，该模型解释了在大芝加哥地区 1,007 名回复邮件的无薪照顾者的社区样本中，照顾者负担通过工作家庭冲突影响心理健康的过程在三个时间点进行调查。结构方程模型分析表明，在基线和两年后，基于压力的冲突是照顾者负担与心理健康之间的一致中介。