Relationship of Perceived Social Support with Mental Health in Older Caregivers

Abstract

Background: Elderly caregivers present increased physical and mental health problems. These factors can lead to a lack of autonomy and a need for social support. This study aims to analyse the relationships between perceived social support and mental health status in elderly caregivers aged 65 and older. Methods: a cross-sectional study based on data from the Spanish National Health Survey (ENSE-17) carried out on 7023 people. The study population was restricted to 431 caregivers aged ≥65 years. A study of the correlation between the mental health state and the perceived social support was carried out. Both variables were related to the sex of the caregiver. Results: Perceived social support by older caregivers is significantly related to mental health (p = 0.001), and stress (p < 0.001). Also, there is a significant relationship between perceived social support and mental well-being (p = 0.001), self-esteem (p = 0.005) and stress (p = 0.001) in older women caregivers. Conclusions: Older caregivers have adequate mental well-being and perceive high social support. Perceived social support can contribute to improving the mental well-being of older caregivers.

Predicting Caregiver Burden in Informal Caregivers for the Elderly in Ecuador

“…These results are also in line with the previous literature where females presented greater levels of burnout syndrome than those of males in their working environment [ 38 ]. Other studies also found higher burnout, perceived stress, and emotional exhaustion in female than in male professors in colleges and high schools [ 39 , 40 ]. Along the same lines, some authors also found cultural differences, since the gender gap regarding emotional exhaustion is greater in females than in males, with this trend being significantly higher in female employees from the United States when compared to that in Europeans [ 41 ].…”

A Clinical Bridge between Family Caregivers and Older Adults: The Contribution of Patients’ Frailty and Optimism on Caregiver Burden

“…Caregivers of older care recipients, especially if they are family caregivers, play a delicate role that is often complicated by the various requests and care needs of the care recipients [ 55 , 56 , 57 ]. In this context, it is necessary to become increasingly aware not only of the difficulties of caring for frail elderly but also of the consequences on the wellbeing of the caregivers, who should not lack social and professional support [ 58 , 59 ]. Furthermore, caregivers should be routinely included in educational health-oriented programs and strategies, jointly with patients and care professionals, in order to improve their knowledge and the quality of care [ 60 , 61 , 62 ].…”

Risk and Protective Factors for PTSD in Caregivers of Adult Patients with Severe Medical Illnesses: A Systematic Review

“…Another interesting finding was that having a higher level of family cohesiveness was protective against PTSD symptomatology [38], highlighting perceptions of friendliness and supportiveness between members of the family as protective. More widely, the importance of family and social support has been highlighted by many other studies [19,22,38,39,43,50,54,62]. Wendlandt et al [62] also found that support and communication from healthcare personnel reduced PTSD symptoms in caregivers.…”

“…Increasing evidence on psychiatric consequences on caregivers of patients with mental disorders are available, some of which is on PTSD [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], however less data are available on caregiving burden of patients affected by severe somatic illnesses, mostly reporting on anxiety or depressive symptoms [19][20][21][22]. However, in a public health perspective it is extremely relevant to investigate PTSD in such population.…”