Global and caregiving mastery as moderators in the caregiving stress process

Objectives: The study tests the circumstances under which global mastery and caregiving mastery moderate the impact of objective and subjective stressors on depressive and anxious symptoms among Alzheimer's caregivers.

Methods: Data from a sample of 200 spousal caregivers to people with Alzheimer's disease were examined. Sixteen separate models were tested with depression and anxiety regressed on two measures of objective demand (activities of daily living and problem behaviors) and two measures of subjective demand (role overload and role captivity) matched with each of the two mastery measures and their relevant interaction terms.

Results: Caregiving mastery functions as a moderator in the relationship between subjective demands and depression and anxiety, that is, at higher levels of caregiving mastery, the positive association between role overload and role captivity on depression and anxiety was weaker. Although there is a strong main effect of global mastery on mental health, it was not found to act as a moderator in this study.

Conclusion: The findings demonstrate the importance of evaluating role-specific measures, such as caregiving mastery, as well as assessing a variety of stressful demands, in order to explicate the pathways through which psychosocial resources exert their protective effects.