Factor structure of caregiving mastery and its effects on mental health

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to extract the factor structure of "caregiving mastery", which is defined as affirmative self perceptions of the caregiver, and to examine its effects on mental health. Researchers analyzed data from primary caregivers caring for a 65-yr-old or older person with dementia, or a fall of ADL. Confirmatory factor analysis extracted 2 factors: "caregiving role mastery" and "coping efficacy with caregiving", that had an acceptable goodness of fit index. In addition, structural equation modeling indicated that caregiving mastery had a significant positive relationship with caregiving stressors and a significant negative relationship with caregiver's mental health. These results suggest that maintaining the caregiver's mental health requires the evaluation of positive appraisals of caregiving (caregiving mastery), as well as the negative appraisals (caregiving burden). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)