Revisiting the caregiver stress process: Does family caregiving really lead to worse mental health outcomes?

ABSTRACT: While the act of caregiving is often characterized as a stressful experience detrimental to mental health, recent studies are challenging this view by reporting robust health and well-being benefits linked to family caregiving. The current study attempted to provide an explanation of this apparent paradox by focusing on the role played by family health problems in the association between being a caregiver and mental health. Framed within the life course perspective and focusing on caregiving provided to aging mothers, the current study aimed 1) to demonstrate how the linkage between caregiving and depression reported in earlier studies may be misleading and 2) to further investigate whether caregiving to an aging mother may lead to any mental health benefits. Using longitudinal data drawn

SUBMITTER: Han SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11229041 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature