Caregiving burden and depressive symptoms among ultra‐orthodox Jews: The moderating role of sense of community

Abstract

Individuals who care for aging parents or relatives often experience caregiving burden, which is associated with various negative psychological outcomes. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict between caring for older relatives and taking the necessary personal precautions against infection may be exacerbated among individuals who belong to social groups, which perceive caring for others as an indispensable cultural construct. Accordingly, the current study examined whether feeling a part of one's community moderates the association between caregiving burden and depressive symptoms among the ultra-orthodox society in Israel. A convenience sample of 358 ultra-orthodox participants was collected (age range 30-70; M = 49.50, SD = 10.24), all of whom completed scales assessing caregiving burden, sense of community, and depressive symptoms. Results demonstrated that high caregiving burden and low sense of community were associated with increased depressive symptoms. Moreover, sense of community moderated the caregiving burden-depressive symptoms link, as the latter positive association was significant only among individuals reporting low levels of sense of community.The discussion highlights the importance of sense of community as a beneficial personal and social factor, which mitigates the negative psychological consequences of caregiving burden among such societies.

The potential of psychological connectedness: Mitigating the impacts of COVID‐19 through sense of community and community resilience

“…Some focus on interventions designed to build SOC and belonging in the midst of disruptions to social interactions (Dougherty & Dougherty, 2020; Frei‐Landau, 2020); others on exploring SOC's relation with COVID‐19 outcomes. For example, SOC has been shown to moderate negative mental health symptoms related to caregiver burdens (Maytles et al, 2021) and moderate the increased risk of elder abuse during the pandemic (E. S. Chang & Levy, 2021).…”

Sense of community, meaning in life, and satisfaction with life among Ultra‐Orthodox Jews: A mediation model

“…The importance of SOC in the Ultra‐Orthodox community can be seen as helping to deal with difficulty and burden, especially in the COVID‐19 era (Maytles et al, 2021). Recent studies have demonstrated the positive relationship between MIL and SWL (Arslan & Yıldırım, 2021; Yıldırım et al, 2020).…”

“…The close ties community members have with each other ensure that all are obliged to provide support to those who need it. Moreover, Maytles et al (2021) demonstrated that in this population, SOC was associated with reduced depressive symptoms associated with caring for older family and community members during COVID‐19. However, as previously stated, the mechanisms through which SOC affects life satisfaction during COVID‐19 remain relatively unclear.…”

“…Moreover, the association between close family relationships and psychological well‐being has been shown to be associated with social support among several minority groups (Campos et al, 2014). While the positive effects of social support are universal, it seems that the feeling that one belongs to a strong and supportive community is crucially important among closed societies, which rely on social belonging as a defining factor (Maytles et al, 2021). In this regard, COVID‐19 has had grave physical and psychological consequences around the world.…”

Distressed yet bonded: A longitudinal investigation of the COVID-19 pandemic’s silver lining effects on life satisfaction.

“…In a longitudinal survey study, Luchetti et al (2020) found that people reported increased support after the pandemic compared to before. All these perceptions and altruistic activities may help to sustain and enhance people’s communal satisfaction and well-being (Gayatri & Irawaty, 2022; Jiang & Fung, 2022; Mannarini et al, 2022; Maytles et al, 2021).…”