Does caregiver stress mean differently for male and female cancer caregivers? A cross-sectional study of Chinese family primary cancer caregivers

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Informal cancer caregiving has long been recognized as a stressful experience. Cancer caregiving resulted in impairments to daily life schedule, financial arrangement, family relationships, and physical health of the caregivers. Little is known about caregiving stress across the gender. This study attempts to explore whether caregiver stress means differently to Chinese male and female caregiving spouse, in the context of the patient-caregiver dyads. METHOD: 146 pairs of Chinese cancer patients and their caregiving spouse were surveyed. The caregivers completed a questionnaire on their perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and the Caregiver Stress Assessment (CRA); whereas the care recipients completed questionnaire on their self-reported mental and physical health (Short Form 12). In addition, the patient-caregiver dyads also completed a measure on their perceived social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived …