Differences in stress and coping models of emotional distress among Korean, Korean-American and White-American caregivers

Abstract

This study compares path models of emotional distress among three groups of caregivers for elderly patients with dementia: 64 Koreans residing in Korea, and 53 Korean-Americans and 54 White-Americans living in the USA. The results support a common core model throughout the three groups: patient's disruptive behavior leads to caregiver burden, which then affects caregivers’ depression and anxiety. Instrumental support was found to be an important factor for Korean caregivers and emotional support was important for Korean-Americans. Only Korean-American caregivers appraised all three patient's problems—patient's disruptive behaviors, memory problems, and depression as burdensome. These findings suggest that stress and coping processes in caregivers from different cultures involve a common core with important differences in the effects of the patient's problems and of social support.