Abstract
The study assessed gender differences in the associations between familism dimensions, dysfunctional thoughts, and resource and outcome variables in 190 Spanish dementia family caregivers. A theoretical model was tested through path analysis, obtaining an excellent fit of the model to the data. Higher scores in the familial obligations dimension were associated with lower self-efficacy for self-care and obtaining respite and leisure frequency, and higher anxious and depressive feelings, in female caregivers only. Significant between-gender differences were obtained, suggesting that female caregivers holding strong familistic values are more vulnerable to the negative consequences of caregiving compared to male caregivers.
Acknowledgments
We thank all the caregivers for their participation in the study and also the following centers for collaborating with us in the project: Fundación Cien, Fundación María Wolff, Centro Reina Sofía de Cruz Roja, and Centro de Psicología Aplicada de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The study materials, analytic methods, and data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Disclosure statement
No conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).