Introduction:
Caring for a family member receiving life-sustaining treatment, such as hemodialysis, has been described as a burdensome experience marked by severe psychological distress; nonetheless, according to Pearlin's Stress Process Model, some personal and/or social resources can help prevent and/or alleviate the negative outcomes of caregiving. From a more humanistic-existential approach, it has been hypothesized that purpose in life may foster individuals’ ability to regulate negative emotions, persevere despite obstacles, and increase engagement in self-care activities. However, the protective role of this psychological resource among hemodialysis caregivers remains largely unknown. This study explored the influence of purpose in life in the relationship between caregiver burden and depression in people supporting a family member receiving hemodialysis.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 173 family caregivers (M=55.9±15.6y) using a set of self-reported measures assessing purpose in life (mediator), self-perceived burden (predictor), and depression symptoms (outcome). A mediation analysis was computed to investigate the influence of purpose in life on the pathway between burden and depression using JASP software (version 0.18.1.0). Different covariates were accounted for (e.g., age, gender, kinship with the cared-for person).
Results:
Findings showed a significant direct effect of burden on depression (b=0.514; z=8.06, p<0.001, 95% Bootstrap CI=[0.396;0.633]); analyzing the indirect effect, findings revealed that purpose in life significantly mediated this path (b=0.136; z=3.56, p<0.001, 95% Bootstrap CI=[0.075;0.209]).
Conclusions:
This study expands Pearlin’s Stress Process Model by identifying purpose in life as a positive psychological resource for family caregivers. Research is needed to better comprehend the feasibility and effectiveness of integrating meaning-making strategies and key concepts of existential psychotherapy into health psychology interventions aimed at enhancing psychosocial adjustment to the hemodialysis caregiving process.
Funding: This work was supported by FEDER, through COMPETE2020- Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and by National Funds (OE), through FCT/MCTES, under the grant number POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030228. Helena Sousa has a PhD grant (DFA/BD/4821/2020; https://doi.org/10.54499/2020.04821.BD) financed by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through FSE (Fundo Social Europeu).
I have no potential conflict of interest to disclose.
I did not use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process.