Mental and physical health of spouse caregivers: the role of personality

Title

Mental and physical health of spouse caregivers: the role of personality

Creator

Hooker K; Monahan D; Shifren K; Hutchinson C

Publisher

Psychology And Aging

Date

1992

Subject

Female; Humans; Male; Aged; Sick Role; Personality Inventory; Stress; Non-U.S. Gov't; P.H.S.; Research Support; U.S. Gov't; Adaptation; Psychological; Caregivers/psychology; Arousal; Psychological/complications; Alzheimer Disease/psychology; Dementia/psychology; Neurotic Disorders/psychology

Description

Although personal resources of caregivers, such as coping skills and social support, have been shown to be important in understanding caregiver stress and health outcomes, personality traits have not previously been considered. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the personality traits of neuroticism and dispositional optimism and mental and physical health outcomes. It was predicted that personality would have direct effects, and indirect effects through perceived stress, on health outcomes. Participants were spouse caregivers of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Results showed that neuroticism and optimism were significantly related to mental and physical health. Furthermore, neuroticism had significant direct effects on all of the health outcomes, and substantial indirect effects, through perceived stress, on mental health outcomes. Optimism showed stronger indirect than direct effects on all health outcomes. These findings demonstrate the importance of including personality of the caregiver in theoretical and empirical models of the caregiving process.
1992

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Type

Journal Article

Citation List Month

Backlog

Citation

Hooker K; Monahan D; Shifren K; Hutchinson C, “Mental and physical health of spouse caregivers: the role of personality,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed March 29, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/12163.