Bienestar psicológico, estrategias de afrontamiento y apoyo social en cuidadores informales

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence that coping strategies and social support have on the psychological sense of well-being of informal caregivers in the province of Concepción, Chile. We surveyed one hundred and ninety-four people with ages between eighteen to seventy-eight years old. Thirty-one of them (67.3%) were women and sixty-three (32.5%) were men. We used the Brief COPE inventory to evaluate coping strategies, Diener's Fourishing Scale to evaluate the psychological sense of well-being, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) to evaluate the perceived social support, plus a socio-demographic questionnaire. We found a significant correlation between the planning and coping strategies and the perceived social support vs. the sense of psychological well-being. Support by friends turned out to be the only significant predictor of psychological well-being. Among coping strategies, acceptance was the only significant predictor. Social support turned out to be a full mediator between acceptance and the sense of psychological well-being. These results reinforce the importance of social support, not only to reduce the level of discomfort among caregivers, but also to promote their well-being.