Caregiving Burden and Depressive Symptoms in Aphasia Caregivers: The Moderating Role of Friendship Support

Caring for a loved one with aphasia often results in a myriad understudied psychosocial challenges for caregivers. To advance family-centered aphasia rehabilitation and a Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA), this study aimed to examine the relationships between caregiving burden, friendship support, and depressive symptoms.

Using the data collected from a cross-sectional survey on the caregiving experiences, social relationships, and well-being of 77 aphasia caregivers, we performed the ordinary-least-squares regression with robust standard error to examine (a) the association between caregiving burden and depressive symptoms among aphasia caregivers and (b) whether friendship support moderates this association.

On average, caregiving burden was positively associated with depressive symptoms among aphasia caregivers. Additionally, friendship support buffered the association between caregiving burden and depressive symptoms. Specifically, caregiving burden was significantly and positively associated with depressive symptoms only among those who perceived low or moderate friendship support but not among those who perceived high friendship support.

Findings underscore the importance of improving not only the communication and life participation among individuals with aphasia but also the social and emotional health of their caregivers. This study informs the application of family-centered aphasia rehabilitation and the LPAA by demonstrating the value of integrating friendship support to buffer the association between caregiving burden and depressive symptoms. Future longitudinal studies with larger and more representative samples are needed to elucidate the mechanisms between caregiving burden, friendship support, and depressive symptoms that are generalizable to aphasia caregivers.