Social support

Background and Objectives: There are nearly 18 million family caregivers in the United States assisting an older adult in need of help. Identifying the caregivers in greatest need of support requires an understanding of the current social support networks available to family caregivers and whether specific groups of caregivers are at risk of having an insufficient support network.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore youth experiences and perspectives on family caregiving to improve programs and policies that impact the well-being of youth. Methods: In August 2020, we asked three open-ended questions about current and anticipated caregiving responsibilities, impact, and needs using MyVoice, a national text message poll of youth. Content and thematic analysis was conducted to evaluate qualitative responses.

Background: One in five individuals in the United States provides care and support to ill, disabled, and aging family members in the home, leading to feelings of burden, stress, and poor health and well-being. Social support represents an important buffer for family caregivers that allows them to feel less isolated and more positive about their caregiving role. Methods: This sequential mixed-methods study aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on family caregivers’ social connections.

Objectives: This study examines WeChat use among family caregivers of persons living with schizophrenia (PLS), its socio-demographic correlates and relationship to caregiving experiences, including perceived stress, stigma, coping, social support, family functioning, and caregiving rewarding feelings. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 449 family caregivers of PLS. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect information on socio-demographics, WeChat use, and a range of caregiving experiences.

Background: There are few illnesses as disruptive as motor neurone disease, a fatal neurodegenerative condition, where diagnosis introduces a clinical narrative of inevitable decline through progressive immobilisation into death. Recent evidence suggests that bereaved motor neurone disease family caregivers are more likely to be at moderate or high risk of complicated grief.

Purpose: Illness uncertainty pervades individuals' experiences of cancer across the illness trajectory and is associated with poor psychological adjustment. This review systematically examined the characteristics and outcomes of interventions promoting illness uncertainty management among cancer patients and/or their family caregivers. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were systematically searched for relevant literature.

Objective: To explore the relationship between social support and quality of life (QoL) among family caregivers of persons with severe mental illness (SMI) and examine the mediating roles of care burden and loneliness. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out between December 2017 and May 2018. A random sample of 256 family caregivers of persons with SMI in rural areas of Sichuan Province, China was recruited for participation.

Background: Families caring for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reported poorer family functioning. Social support might strengthen family functioning, but limited research to date has focused on this association in China. Methods: This study conducted a cross-sectional survey of Chinese families that have children with ASD to examine the relationship between social support and family functioning.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the psychosocial experiences in community-based dementia caregiving by assessing the characteristics of social interactions between family caregivers and community-based service providers and associated psychological responses. Methods: Two independent groups of participants (family caregivers and community-based service providers) completed a one-time survey to report their social interactions and psychological states.

Background: The current study examined the role of informal supports in predicting resilience among families of children with autism spectrum disorder. Methods: Participants included 153 caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder, who were between the ages of 2 and 18 years (M = 10.45; SD = 4.32). Caregivers completed a measure of satisfaction with informal supports as well as the Family Resilience Assessment Scale-autism spectrum disorder.