Caregiver identity and perceived partner changes: An exploratory path analysis of relationships to subjective happiness and health
(2025) Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences — (2025)
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- Abstract
- Objective: In the context of a health condition affecting their partner’s autonomy, spouses may perceive changes in their partner. Due to the affective bond between partners, the increase in perceived change in the partner may lead to a shift from the identity of spouse to caregiver. However, although the literature hypothesis that the identification to the caregiver role may be a protective factor against the negative outcomes of caregiving negative, it remains unclear how this change in identification affects spouse caregivers’ happiness and health. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 102 spouse caregivers completed an online survey measuring their perception of their partner’s changes, identification with the caregiver role, and the perceived impact of caregiving on their health and happiness. Results: Path analysis revealed that only the perception of cognitive and relational changes in the spouse predicted identification to the caregiver role (standardized β ranged from -0.31 to 0.44; p ≤ .05). A higher level of identification with the caregiver role explained less happiness (standardized β = -0.37, p ≤ .01) but a smaller perceived impact of caregiving on health (standardized β = -0.39, p ≤ .001). Conclusion: Due to its influence on happiness and health, caregivers’ identity and its personal meaning should be considered a determining factor in the experience of caregiving for a spouse and should be taken into account by the professionals supporting them.
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Citations
Westrelin, N., Lelorain, S., Denève, C., & Zech, E. (2025). Caregiver identity and perceived partner changes: An exploratory path analysis of relationships to subjective happiness and health. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. Accepted/in-press. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/271361 (Original work published 2025)