This study intends to investigate the main and mediating effects which positive and negative caregiving appraisal exert on psychological well-being of primary family caregivers of mentally disordered person considering the relationship with a stresso...
This study intends to investigate the main and mediating effects which positive and negative caregiving appraisal exert on psychological well-being of primary family caregivers of mentally disordered person considering the relationship with a stressor and resource variables. The ultimate goal of this study is to give a contribution to find various ways in improving psychological well-being of family caregivers who take care of a person with mental disorder.
The main stream of previous studies on family caregivers of mentally disordered person tended to focus on the feeling of burden which is the negative caregiving appraisal and on depression which indicates negative psychological well-being. Recently with the new recognition of the 'positive reappraisal' to the hardships and adversities, positive aspects of caregiving appraisal such as caregiving satisfaction, pleasure, and reward have been emphasized. This new tendency which goes with the strength perspective and resilient approach has a significance not only in social work research but also in social work practice.
The process of this study are as follows. First, the variables which constitute this research model were chosen on the basis of stress-appraisal-coping theory and two factor model of caregiving and psychological well-being through reviews of the previous studies. This study sees that social functioning of a mentally disordered person is the stressor and social support to a family caregiver and the intimate relationship between a family caregiver and a mentally disordered person are helpful resources. In the study, appraisal and psychological well-being variables are divided into the positive one and the negative one: positive caregiving appraisal, negative caregiving appraisal, positive affect and depression. The direct and indirect affective relationship between these variables are presented through the path model.
Second, a survey was conducted upon 374 primary family caregivers who live together with a mentally disordered person in the community through community mental health centers, social rehabilitation facilities, and day hospitals. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS 12.0 and SEM(Structural Equation Modeling) method using AMOS 4.0.
The summary of the results is as follows. First, as a result of a confirmatory factor analysis, 7 latent variables of this research model are persuasively explained by the measurement model.
Second, the entire model including measurement and structural model shows sufficient fit index of CFI(.946), TLI(.943), and RMSEA(.063).
Third, the results of analysis of direct effects among variables are as follows. A stressor, 'social functioning of a mentally disordered person', is found to give significantly direct influence on the 'relationship between a family caregiver and mentally disordered person', 'negative caregiving appraisal', and 'depression'. The 'perceived social support to a family caregiver' has statistically significant direct effect on the 'positive caregiving appraisal' and 'depression'. The 'relationship between a family caregiver and a person with mental disorder' has statistically significant direct effect on 'positive and negative caregiving appraisal' and 'positive affect'. The 'positive caregiving appraisal' has statistically significant direct effect on 'positive affect' and the 'negative caregiving appraisal' has direct effect on both of positive and negative psychological well-being variables: 'positive affect' and 'depression'.
Fourth, the results of analysis of mediating effects of the 'relationship between a family caregiver and a person with mental disorder' and the 'positive and negative caregiving appraisal' are as follows. The effects of 'social functioning of a person with mental disorder' on 'positive and negative caregiving appraisal' are significantly mediated by the 'relationship between a family caregiver and a person with mental disorder'. The effects of 'perceived social support to a family caregiver' and 'relationship between a family caregiver and a person with mental disorder' on the 'positive affect' are significantly mediated by the 'positive caregiving appraisal'. The effects of 'social functioning of a person with mental disorder' on the 'positive affect and depression' are significantly mediated by the 'negative caregiving appraisal'. The effect of 'relationship between a family caregiver and a person with mental disorder' on the 'depression' is significantly mediated by the 'negative caregiving appraisal'.
Through this research, these implications in social work study and practice are found: (1) this study extended the scope of family study in the mental health area from negative sides into positive ones by using of positive caregiving appraisal and positive affect variables in the research model, which has not been tried on the Korean family caregivers of the mentally disordered. (2) the effects of caregiving appraisal on psychological well-being which are shown in this study can provide a foundational necessity for social workers to help family caregivers find positive meanings in their caregiving experience. This approach of social work practice will improve psychological well-being of family caregivers. (3) this study presents a framework including stressor, resources, positive and negative caregiving appraisal, and psychological well-being variables available to social work practice in the community mental health and explaining affective relationships among these variables in various aspects.