Need fulfillment in caring relationships: Its relation with well-being of residents in somatic nursing homes

Quality of life and well-being in nursing homes are becoming more important in research and practice. Based on self-determination theory, the objective of this study is to examine the contribution of need fulfillment in the caring relationship to residents' subjective well-being. It was expected that the relation of need fulfillment in the caring relationship with well-being is mediated by need fulfillment in general.

During interviews with 88 residents of somatic nursing homes (age 50-97, mean age 78.6), perceptions of need fulfillment in the caring relationship, need fulfillment in general, and two components of subjective well-being, i.e., depressive feelings and life satisfaction, were measured. The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analyses and mediational analysis.

As expected, the results indicated that need fulfillment in the caring relationship was related to lower levels of depressive feelings and more life satisfaction. Need fulfillment in general mediated the relation of need fulfillment in the caring relationship with depressive feelings.

As suggested by the results, it can be concluded that high-quality caring relationships contribute to the need fulfillment of residents and their well-being. The quality of caring relationships is thus an important topic for further research. The field may especially benefit from longitudinal studies and studies that use observations of the caring relationship in addition to self-reports.