Premium
Involvement in self‐care and psychological well‐being of Spanish family caregivers of relatives with dementia
Author(s) -
AlonsoCortés Beatriz,
GonzálezCabanach Ramón,
SecoCalvo Jesús
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
health and social care in the community
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.984
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1365-2524
pISSN - 0966-0410
DOI - 10.1111/hsc.13171
Subject(s) - dementia , virtuous circle and vicious circle , psychology , perspective (graphical) , personal development , psychological intervention , observational study , self care , personal care , well being , clinical psychology , health care , developmental psychology , social psychology , medicine , psychiatry , psychotherapist , family medicine , disease , pathology , artificial intelligence , computer science , economics , macroeconomics , economic growth
The provision of continuous care to a dependent person can lead to a lack of self‐care by the caregiver themselves with corresponding low levels of well‐being. This well‐being has been analysed mostly from within the perspective of the hedonic tradition, with the development of personal growth often being overlooked. This study aims to increase the understanding of the connection between this type of psychological well‐being and involvement in self‐care activities, and to be a starting point for the determination of categories that may serve in the screening of potential participants in social‐health interventions where it is being promoted. Taking the hypothesis of a probable positive connection between psychological well‐being and involvement in self‐care , an observational study was carried out on 45 caregivers of relatives with dementia. In those caregivers showing greater dedication to self‐care, a higher score was obtained on the well‐being scales connected to personal significance and positive emotions and experiences. These findings were further reinforced by the identification of other positive connections, the involvement in self‐care and the six dimensions of wellness contemplated by Ryff. It is possible to envisage the existence of a virtuous circle in respect of the caregiver, whereby a greater involvement in self‐care is related to a higher psychological well‐being, which in turn is related to greater self‐care, and so on.