Relationship of Perceived Social Support with Mental Health in Older Caregivers

Laura Muñoz-Bermejo, José Carmelo Adsuar, Salvador Postigo-Mota, Inés Casado-Verdejo, Claudia Mara de Melo-Tavares, Miguel Ángel Garcia-Gordillo, Jorge Pérez-Gómez and Jorge Carlos-Vivas
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Laura Muñoz-Bermejo: Social Impact and Innovation in Health (InHEALTH), University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
José Carmelo Adsuar: Health, Economy, Motricity and Education Research Group (HEME), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
Salvador Postigo-Mota: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Inés Casado-Verdejo: Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy of Faculty of Health Sciences, University of León, 24071 León, Spain
Claudia Mara de Melo-Tavares: Department of Maternal, Child and Psychiatric Nursing, University Federal Fluminense/UFF, Rio de Janeiro (RJ) 24020-140, Brasil
Miguel Ángel Garcia-Gordillo: Facultad de Administración y Negocios, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, sede Talca 3467987, Chile
Jorge Pérez-Gómez: Health, Economy, Motricity and Education Research Group (HEME), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
Jorge Carlos-Vivas: Health, Economy, Motricity and Education Research Group (HEME), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-13

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.

Keywords: health surveys; aged; caregivers; mental health; stress; psychological; social support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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