THE RELATIONSHIPS OF SELF CARE AGENCY AND SELF CARE ACTIONS TO CAREGIVER STRAIN AS PERCEIVED BY FEMALE FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF ELDERLY PARENTS.
Contributors: New York University.
Published: 1993
Number of pages: 142
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Gerontology.
Description: The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to examine the relationships of self care agency and self care actions to perceived caregiver strain. Multiple roles and conditioning factors (age, length of time in the caregiver role and types of caregiving tasks) were examined with the self care variables to note the nature of their association with caregiver strain. This study was based on Orem's self care model.

The participants were adult daughters (N = 131) of elderly patients known to a certified home health agency from a large urban city. The instruments used were the Caregiver Burden Instrument (alpha =.94), Denyes Self Care Agency Instrument (alpha =.92) and Denyes Self Care Practice Instrument (alpha =.94). One hypothesis and four research questions were tested using correlational and multiple regression analyses. The findings show a significant inverse relationship between self care agency and caregiver strain. Self care actions were significantly related and predictive of decreased caregiver strain. Significant positive relationships were determined for length of time in the caregiver's role, personal care tasks, household tasks and emotional support with caregiver strain. Age, multiple roles and personal management tasks were not significantly associated with caregiver strain. The problem of multicollinearity was identified in the relationship between the self care variables. Therefore, self care actions were analyzed in the research questions which focused on mediator and moderator relationships. Self care actions mediated relationships between personal care tasks and caregiver strain, between household tasks and caregiver strain and between emotional support and caregiver strain. Self care actions did not mediate relationship between length of time in the caregiver role and caregiver strain. The interaction between multiple roles and self care actions and between personal care tasks and self care actions resulted in significant moderator effects. The moderator effects of multiple roles on self care actions were significant but weakly predictive of increased caregiver strain. The moderator effects of personal care tasks on self care actions was significant and moderately predictive of decreased caregiver strain.

This study demonstrated how the use of self care actions were predictive of decreased caregiver strain. Recommendations for research and clinical implications are discussed.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-04, Section: B, page: 1884.

Thesis (PH.D.)--NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, 1993.

School code: 0146.