Stress proliferation in caregivers: The relationships between caregiving stressors and deterioration in family relationships

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to examine the extent to which caregiving stressors could explain change in family relationships over time – a construct termed stress proliferation – in a secondary analysis of an existing database. The sample of caregivers and care recipients (N = 132) was drawn mainly from records held by general practitioners in Glasgow. Care recipients were aged 65 years and over, and the majority had impaired hearing. Caregivers were younger non-spouse relatives of care recipients. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, two stressors were found to be significantly related to deterioration in family relationships over a period of six months, irrespective of change in caregiver distress: the care recipient's hearing disability (β = −0.21), and change in the caregiver's negative reactions to caregiving (β = −0.23). It was concluded that the care recipient's hearing disability and more negative reactions to caregiving were related to a deterioration in family relationships over time. The results highlight the need for further study in this area, with a view to informing intervention programmes.

Keywords:

• Stress proliferation
• caregiving stressors
• hearing impairment

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Chief Scientist's Office, Edinburgh, Scotland: Grant number K/RED/4/C347. The authors wish to thank Paul Campbell, Julie Fitzpatrick, Joanne Rae, and Frank Sullivan for their contributions to the project, and Paul Flowers and our anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.