Masters Thesis

Differences in Caregiving between Young Latinx and Caucasian Caregivers

Due to current advances in technology within the healthcare system, more individuals with chronic health conditions are surviving and in need of assistance with their activities of daily living. This demand is introducing more young adults to the active roles and responsibilities of informal caregiving. The present study examined caregiving differences among young informal caregivers:22 Latinx and 35 Caucasian. Specifically, whether caregiver burden was associated with lower self-esteem and depressive symptoms and whether familism moderated these associations and whether these associations were prominent amongst young Latinx caregivers. Qualified participants were asked to complete a short demographic questionnaire, the Zarit Burden Interview, familism scale, single item self-esteem scale, and the Center of Epidemiological Studies – depression scale. Results found that caregiving burden was negatively associated with self-esteem and positively associated with depressive symptoms. Contrary to the research hypothesis, familism mitigated the adverse association between caregiving burden and well-being to a certain extent. Lastly, these associations were not stronger among young Latinx than Caucasian informal caregivers.

Items in ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.