Testing Self-Efficacy as a Pathway That Supports Self-Care Among Family Caregivers in a Psychoeducational Intervention

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which a psychoeducational intervention supports family-centered care by influencing health risk and self-care behaviors of caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (N = 325). Moreover, this study investigated the extent to which changes in self-efficacy explained changes in health risk and self-care behaviors. Data were analyzed using repeated measures and multivariate analysis of variance and multiple regression. Qualitative written accounts of the impact of the intervention augmented the quantitative findings. The study's findings revealed that family caregivers experienced reductions in health risk behaviors and improvements in exercise, stress management, and relaxation activities as a result of participating in the psychoeducational intervention. Improvement in self-efficacy was linked with reductions in health risk behaviors and increased involvement in stress management and relaxation activities. Implications are discussed in terms of the need to understand the mechanisms by which interventions influence family caregivers and the role these mechanisms play in supporting family-centered care.

KEYWORDS:

• Alzheimer's disease
• family caregivers
• family-centered care
• psychoeducational interventions
• self-care
• self-efficacy

The authors acknowledge financial support from grants to M. Y. Savundranayagam from the Hartford Foundation's Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars Program and the Center on Age and Community at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Notes

AD = Alzheimer's disease; PTC = Powerful Tools for Caregiving.

Note: PTC = Powerful Tools for Caregiving.

∗Correlation is significant at p < .05 level.

Note: PTC = Powerful Tools for Caregiving.

Coefficients are from the Step 4 model. PTC =.

^a For the regression on change in health risk behaviors, R ² = .01 for Step 1 (p = .42); ΔR² = .02 for Step 2 (p = .23); ΔR² = .00 for Step 3 (p = .86); ΔR² = .10 for Step 4 (p < .001).

^b For the regression on change in time spent on stress-management, R ² = .02 for Step 1 (p = .10); ΔR ² = .01 for Step 2 (p = .30); ΔR ² = .03 for Step 3 (p < .01); ΔR ² = .05 for Step 4 (p < .001).

^c For the regression on change in the number of relaxation activities, R ² = .04 for Step 1 (p < .05); ΔR ² = .00 for Step 2 (p = .68); ΔR ² = .02 for Step 3 (p < .01); ΔR ² = .03 for Step 4 (p < .01).

∗p < .05.