IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i9p4700-d545501.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sociocultural Influences on the Feeling of Loneliness of Family Caregivers of People with Dementia: The Role of Kinship

Author

Listed:
  • Cristina Huertas-Domingo

    (Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain)

  • María Márquez-González

    (Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain)

  • Isabel Cabrera

    (Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain)

  • Samara Barrera-Caballero

    (Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain)

  • María del Sequeros Pedroso-Chaparro

    (Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain)

  • Rosa Romero-Moreno

    (Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain)

  • Andrés Losada-Baltar

    (Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

The extent to which familism, dysfunctional thoughts, and coping variables contribute to explaining feelings of loneliness in caregivers, controlling for kinship, is analyzed. Participants were 273 family caregivers of people with dementia. Sociodemographic variables, familism, dysfunctional thoughts, coping strategies for requesting and receiving help, perceived social support, and leisure activities were assessed. The fit of a theoretical model for explaining the effect of cultural and psychological variables on feelings of loneliness in each kinship group was tested. No significant differences in the distribution of loneliness by kinship were found. Higher levels of familism are associated with more dysfunctional thoughts, that are linked to more maladaptive strategies for coping with caring (e.g., less social support and fewer leisure activities). This in turn is associated with higher scores in the feeling of loneliness. The model bore particular relevance to the group of daughters, husbands, and sons, yet not in the case of wives. Sociocultural and coping factors associated with the caring process seem to play an important role in explaining feelings of loneliness in caregivers. Sociocultural factors associated with the care process seem to play an important role in explaining feelings of loneliness in caregivers.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Huertas-Domingo & María Márquez-González & Isabel Cabrera & Samara Barrera-Caballero & María del Sequeros Pedroso-Chaparro & Rosa Romero-Moreno & Andrés Losada-Baltar, 2021. "Sociocultural Influences on the Feeling of Loneliness of Family Caregivers of People with Dementia: The Role of Kinship," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-12, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:9:p:4700-:d:545501
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4700/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4700/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baila Miller & Shenyang Guo, 2000. "Social Support for Spouse Caregivers of Persons With Dementia," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 55(3), pages 163-172.
    2. Martin Pinquart & Silvia Sörensen, 2006. "Gender Differences in Caregiver Stressors, Social Resources, and Health: An Updated Meta-Analysis," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(1), pages 33-45.
    3. Bob G. Knight & Philip Sayegh, 2009. "Cultural Values and Caregiving: The Updated Sociocultural Stress and Coping Model," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 65(1), pages 5-13.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marcus F. Johansson & Kevin J. McKee & Lena Dahlberg & Martina Summer Meranius & Christine L. Williams & Lena Marmstål Hammar, 2022. "Negative Impact and Positive Value of Caregiving in Spouse Carers of Persons with Dementia in Sweden," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-13, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cinzia Di Novi & Rowena Jacobs & Matteo Migheli, 2013. "The quality of life of female informal caregivers: from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean Sea," Working Papers 084cherp, Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
    2. Marissa M Rurka & J Jill Suitor & Megan Gilligan & Robert T Frase & Zhen Cong, 2023. "How Do Own and Siblings’ Genders Shape Caregivers’ Risk of Perceiving Care-Related Criticism From Siblings?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 78(3), pages 520-531.
    3. Thomas Hansen & Marcela Petrová Kafková & Ruth Katz & Ariela Lowenstein & Sigal Naim & George Pavlidis & Feliciano Villar & Kieran Walsh & Marja Aartsen, 2021. "Exclusion from Social Relations in Later Life: Micro- and Macro-Level Patterns and Correlations in a European Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-16, November.
    4. Young Kyung Do & Edward C. Norton & Sally C. Stearns & Courtney Harold Van Houtven, 2015. "Informal Care and Caregiver's Health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2), pages 224-237, February.
    5. Maryam Farzand & Engin Baysen, 2018. "Group differences on affiliate stigma experienced by family caregivers of psychiatric patients," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(5), pages 2403-2412, September.
    6. Miller, Ray & Sedai, Ashish Kumar, 2022. "Opportunity costs of unpaid caregiving: Evidence from panel time diaries," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    7. Karen Siedlecki & Timothy Salthouse & Shigehiro Oishi & Sheena Jeswani, 2014. "The Relationship Between Social Support and Subjective Well-Being Across Age," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 561-576, June.
    8. Paul Glavin & Amanda Peters, 2015. "The Costs of Caring: Caregiver Strain and Work-Family Conflict Among Canadian Workers," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 5-20, March.
    9. Chiu‐Yueh Hsiao, 2010. "Family demands, social support and caregiver burden in Taiwanese family caregivers living with mental illness: the role of family caregiver gender," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(23‐24), pages 3494-3503, December.
    10. Ángel L. Martín-Román & Alfonso Moral & Sara Pinillos-Franco, 2024. "Are women breaking the glass ceiling? A gendered analysis of the duration of sick leave in Spain," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 107-134, March.
    11. Suah Kang & Miji Kim & Chang Won Won, 2020. "Spousal Concordance of Physical Frailty in Older Korean Couples," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-10, June.
    12. Signe A. Abrahamsen & Maja Weemes Grøtting, 2023. "Formal care of the elderly and health outcomes among adult daughters," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 436-461, February.
    13. Tokunaga, Mutsumi & Hashimoto, Hideki, 2017. "The socioeconomic within-gender gap in informal caregiving among middle-aged women: Evidence from a Japanese nationwide survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 48-53.
    14. Christine Unson & Anuli Njoku & Stanley Bernard & Martin Agbalenyo, 2023. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Chronic Stress among Male Caregivers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(12), pages 1-13, June.
    15. Guo, Shenyang, 2005. "Analyzing grouped data with hierarchical linear modeling," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 637-652, June.
    16. Lars Thiel, 2016. "Caring Alone? Social Capital and the Mental Health of Caregivers," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 860, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    17. O'Reilly, Dermot & Connolly, Sheelah & Rosato, Michael & Patterson, Chris, 2008. "Is caring associated with an increased risk of mortality? A longitudinal study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(8), pages 1282-1290, October.
    18. Andrew Wister & Lun Li & Barbara Mitchell & Christina Wolfson & Jacqueline McMillan & Lauren E Griffith & Susan Kirkland & Parminder Raina & Laura Anderson & Cynthia Balion & Asada Yukiko & Nicole Bas, 2022. "Levels of Depression and Anxiety Among Informal Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study Based on the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging [The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic and," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 77(9), pages 1740-1757.
    19. Hans Kristian Maridal & Hanne Marit Bjørgaas & Kristen Hagen & Egil Jonsbu & Pashupati Mahat & Shankar Malakar & Signe Dørheim, 2021. "Psychological Distress among Caregivers of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-13, March.
    20. Peña-Longobardo, L.M. & Rodríguez-Sánchez, B. & Oliva-Moreno, J., 2021. "The impact of widowhood on wellbeing, health, and care use: A longitudinal analysis across Europe," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:9:p:4700-:d:545501. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.