Multiple roles of middle-generation caregivers: contextual effects and psychological mechanisms

Caregiver role experiences of 106 women in the context of their other role experiences as mother and wife were investigated. The study examined role-specific stressors as predictors of well-being (physical health, positive and negative affect), and investigated role-specific feelings of adequacy as a mediator between stress in a given role and well-being. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that different patterns of role stress were important in explaining different indices of well-being, and that the mother and wife roles contributed unique variance beyond the caregiver role. Path analyses indicated that feelings of adequacy served as a mediator in the role-specific stress process, especially that involving the caregiver and wife roles and the affective indices of well-being. This study suggests the importance of examining caregivers' role experiences in the context of their other family roles and identifies a psychological mechanism through which chronic role stress is related to well-being.