TY - JOUR
T1 - Examining the Influence of Care-Recipient Resistance on Family Caregiver Emotional and Physical Well-Being
T2 - Average Frequency Versus Daily Fluctuation
AU - Shirai, Yumi
AU - Koerner, Susan Silverberg
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016.
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/2/1
Y1 - 2018/2/1
N2 - Although existing cross-sectional research suggests that dependent older family members’ resistive behavior (care-recipient [CR] resistance: verbal or nonverbal rejection or resistance toward caregiver [CG] assistance) can be challenging for informal family CGs, we know little about the impact of the occurrence patterns of CR-resistance—average frequency versus daily fluctuation—on CG emotional and physical well-being. To document CGs’ daily experiences with CR-resistance and their emotional and physical well-being, the present study applied short-term repeated measures, collecting data on 8 consecutive days from 63 CGs in Southern Arizona, the United States. Multilevel modeling of the daily data revealed that neither average frequency nor daily fluctuation in CR-resistance alone had a significant impact on CG emotional/physical health. However, the combination of experiencing relatively high frequency and high daily fluctuation in CR-resistance was associated with significant increases in CG physical health symptoms (b =.34, p <.01). Specifically, on days when a CG faced more CR-resistance than his or her usual amount, significant increases in physical health symptoms existed for CGs with relatively high average frequency of CR-resistance, but not for CGs with relatively low average frequency of CR-resistance. Based on our results, it appears that monitoring and maintaining a reasonable level of CR-resistance are effective strategies to maintain CG resilience to the negative impact of CR-resistance daily fluctuation. The findings are interpreted in light of Stress Theory, and recommendations for future research and practical interventions are offered.
AB - Although existing cross-sectional research suggests that dependent older family members’ resistive behavior (care-recipient [CR] resistance: verbal or nonverbal rejection or resistance toward caregiver [CG] assistance) can be challenging for informal family CGs, we know little about the impact of the occurrence patterns of CR-resistance—average frequency versus daily fluctuation—on CG emotional and physical well-being. To document CGs’ daily experiences with CR-resistance and their emotional and physical well-being, the present study applied short-term repeated measures, collecting data on 8 consecutive days from 63 CGs in Southern Arizona, the United States. Multilevel modeling of the daily data revealed that neither average frequency nor daily fluctuation in CR-resistance alone had a significant impact on CG emotional/physical health. However, the combination of experiencing relatively high frequency and high daily fluctuation in CR-resistance was associated with significant increases in CG physical health symptoms (b =.34, p <.01). Specifically, on days when a CG faced more CR-resistance than his or her usual amount, significant increases in physical health symptoms existed for CGs with relatively high average frequency of CR-resistance, but not for CGs with relatively low average frequency of CR-resistance. Based on our results, it appears that monitoring and maintaining a reasonable level of CR-resistance are effective strategies to maintain CG resilience to the negative impact of CR-resistance daily fluctuation. The findings are interpreted in light of Stress Theory, and recommendations for future research and practical interventions are offered.
KW - behavioral problems
KW - care recipient
KW - caregiving
KW - resistance
KW - resistiveness
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U2 - 10.1177/0733464816631594
DO - 10.1177/0733464816631594
M3 - Article
C2 - 27006432
AN - SCOPUS:85040742070
VL - 37
SP - 203
EP - 227
JO - Journal of Applied Gerontology
JF - Journal of Applied Gerontology
SN - 0733-4648
IS - 2
ER -