The role of resources and appraisals in predicting burden among Latina and non-Hispanic white female caregivers: A test of an expanded socio-cultural model of stress and coping

Objectives: The goal of this study is to propose and evaluate an expanded socio-cultural model of stress and coping that examines the role of culturally situated factors, such as coping abilities and the caregiver's self-efficacy beliefs, as mediators of outcomes among Latina and non-Hispanic white female caregivers.

Methods: Using baseline data from 89 Latina and 96 non-Hispanic white female caregivers enrolled in an intervention study in the San Francisco area, exogenous and mediating factors were regressed on levels of burden among self-identified caregivers of older adults with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia.

Results: Results from structural equation modeling provided empirical evidence for a model in which the effects of ethnicity and other background variables are mediated through coping resources and appraisals of self-efficacy for managing care.

Conclusion: This study adds to the existing literature that underscores the importance of evaluating the role of culturally mediated values for their impact on mental health outcomes. This influence is not only due to structural factors that reflect the disadvantaged minority status of ethnically diverse caregivers (e.g. socioeconomic status), but also to their coping resources and their appraisal of being able to meet caregiving demands, as shaped by their perceptions about caregiving. Future research is encouraged to explore the role of other culturally mediated factors that may affect mental health outcomes among caregivers of relatives with dementia.