Coping strategies and social support as predictors and mediators of eating disorder carer burden and psychological distress

Abstract

Interventions focusing on teaching appropriate coping strategies would benefit carers.

Predicting psychological distress of informal carers of individuals with major depression or bipolar disorder

“…Results of the regression analysis revealed maladaptive coping styles to be a significant predictor of increased psychological distress, which is in agreement with the findings of other published studies (Coomber & King ; Kartalova‐O'Doherty & Doherty ; Mackay & Pakenham ). Mackay and Pakenham () found that IC ( n = 87) of individuals with non‐specific mental illnesses, who relied on predominantly maladaptive coping styles, had poorer general health and experienced greater psychological distress.…”

“…Many IC report insufficient support and are unsure of how to obtain more (Douma et al . ), with lower levels being associated with maladaptive coping styles (Coomber & King ) and high levels of psychological distress (Wijndaele et al . ).…”

“…). Enhancing perceptions of social support has proved effective in ameliorating the burden faced by carers in the context of caring for an individual with an eating disorder (Coomber & King ; Raenker et al . ), and therefore, provides a strong case for IC of individuals with depressive illnesses.…”

Validation of the Caregiver Skills (CASK) scale in Catalonia: Concordance between caregivers in attitudes and behaviours

“…Also, as in the sample in Hibbs, Rhind, et al (), the percentage of mothers who were the primary caregiver was notably higher than that of fathers. Previous studies on caregivers and ED patients have reported a larger number of mothers take on this role compared with fathers (Coomber & King, ; Graap et al, ; Jauregui‐Lobera, Ruiz‐Prieto, Bolanos‐Rios, & Garrido‐Casals, ; Macdonald et al, ; Martín et al, ). These results are in line with the current literature highlighting the predominance of female caregivers across mental disorders (Graap et al, ; Roick, Heider, Toumi, & Angermeyer, ; Souza et al, ; Stadnick, Chlebowski, & Brookman‐Frazee, ).…”

Examining Maternal Psychopathology, Family Functioning and Coping Skills in Childhood Obesity: A Case–Control Study

“…Although no previous studies have explored this issue in families of children with obesity, several studies have assessed the use of coping strategies among caregivers of patients with EDs. These studies have revealed that caregivers' use of maladaptive coping strategies were associated with psychological distress (Coomber & King, ) and that mothers tend to use similar coping strategies as their adolescent daughters with an ED (Lantzouni, Cox, Salvator, & Crosby, ). Future studies are needed to assess if these same findings hold true for those caring for offspring with obesity.…”