Adult Children’s Caregiver Burden and Depression: The Moderating Roles of Parent–Child Relationship Satisfaction and Feedback from Others

Wei Lin (), Lung Chen () and Tsui-Shan Li ()

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2013, vol. 14, issue 2, 673-687

Abstract: The issue of elderly care has generated great interest because today, most of us live in an aging society. It has been found that caring for one’s elderly parents is a stressful experience that is related to negative outcomes. In addition, accompanied with the decline in fertility may make adult children feel heavier caregiver’s burden. Therefore, the current study investigates moderators that may help reduce the caregiver burden. Following the conservation of resources theory (COR), we hypothesized that feedback from others and a good parent–child relationship serve as resources that may help the individual manage the stress associated with caring for his or her elderly parents. To examine our hypotheses, we collected data from 502 adult children who were primary caregivers for their elderly parents. All participants completed the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Feedback from Others Scale, and the Parent–Child Relationship Satisfaction Scale. Supporting our prediction, we found a positive correlation between the caregiver’s burden and the caregiver’s levels of depression. Furthermore, both moderation effects were significant. Consistent with our hypotheses, the relationship between caregiver burden and his or her level of depression was weaker when participants had high feedback from others or had a better parent–child relationship. Our findings highlight the view that possessing more resources may help the individual manage the stress associated with caring for elderly parents. Implications for issues related to elderly care are discussed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Keywords: Caregiver burden; Conservation of resources; Depression; Parent care; Relationship (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-012-9348-0

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