Care recipients’ psychological well-being: The role of sense of control and caregiver type

Abstract

The current study tested mediation and moderation hypotheses to examine the link between caregiver type, sense of control, and depressive symptoms in older adult care recipients. All recipients (127 older adults, aged 60–98) reported at least one instrumental activity of daily living impairment and 75% reported at least one activity of daily living limitation. Results indicated that care recipients’ depressive symptoms varied by caregiver type and level of sense of control. Recipients with low sense of control and family caregivers reported higher depressive symptoms than those with a low sense of control and non-family caregivers. The findings suggest that although some care recipients have caregivers they may yet experience poor psychological well-being. Implications for practitioners are that in addition to their medical and physical health needs, the psychological well-being of care recipients is also important to consider.

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the National Institute of Aging (NIA) Training Grant T-32-AG000117 at the University of Michigan.