Purpose in life moderates the relationship between loneliness and caregiving stress among family caregivers of people with mental health problems

Abstract

Objective: Providing care to others can exert a profound impact on caregivers' sense of purpose or meaning in life, thereby reciprocally influencing the caregivers' overall health and well-being. This study aims to investigate whether the sense of purpose in life moderates the association between loneliness and caregiving stress among family caregivers of people with mental health problems.

Methods: A sample of family caregivers of people with mental health problems (N = 468, 57.1 % female) drawn from the 2020 survey of the Caregiving in the U.S. was investigated. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and a multiple regression with an interaction term were performed.

Results: Higher levels of loneliness were associated with enhanced caregiving stress. Moreover, after demographic and care-related factors were controlled for, the association between loneliness and caregiving stress was moderated by purpose in life; namely, as the sense of purpose in life increased, so did the intensity of the relationship between loneliness and caregiving stress.

Conclusion: Reducing loneliness or strengthening the sense of purpose helps alleviate caregiving stress, and lonely family caregivers with a strong sense of purpose deserve extra attention.

Keywords: Buffering effect; Loneliness; Purpose in life; Sense of meaning; Stress.