Self-reassurance and self-efficacy for controlling upsetting thoughts predict depression, anxiety, and perceived stress in help-seeking female family caregivers.

OBJECTIVES

Providing care for an older family member is a common experience for women and has been linked with increased depression, anxiety, and stress for some caregivers. This study aimed to investigate the role of self-reassurance and self-efficacy for controlling upsetting thoughts in mitigating the negative effects of caregiving stressors on mental health.

DESIGN

Measures were collected during a pre-intervention assessment for a larger study in the U.S.A. evaluating online interventions for intergenerational caregivers. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to examine the contribution of self-reassurance and self-efficacy for controlling upsetting thoughts on mental health outcomes, after controlling for caregiving-related contextual variables and stressors.

SETTING

Participants completed online questionnaires on a computer or tablet at their convenience.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 150 help-seeking adult women providing health-care assistance to older relatives living in the community.

MEASUREMENTS

Measures were completed for the mental health outcomes of depression, anxiety, and stress. Measures also included contextual factors of caregiving and demographics. Cognitive impairment, caregiver assistance, role overload, percentage of care provided, family conflict, self-reassurance, and self-efficacy for controlling upsetting thoughts were also measured.

RESULTS

Regression models revealed that both self-reassurance and self-efficacy for controlling upsetting thoughts predicted depression, anxiety, and perceived stress after controlling for caregiving contextual factors and stressors.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that self-reassurance and self-efficacy for controlling upsetting thoughts are effective resources linked to mental health outcomes. Although results were obtained with cross-sectional data, these findings suggest the potential of targeting these resources in transdiagnostic interventions for family caregivers.