A Study On The Factors Influencing The Subjective Well-being Of Family Caregivers Of The Disabled Elderly

With the acceleration of population aging,an increasing number of disabled elderly individuals require care.Given that home-based care is currently the main mode of elderly care in China,family caregivers need to invest a significant amount of time and energy into caregiving work.The potential issues faced by family caregivers of disabled elderly individuals include inadequate community-based elderly care infrastructure,decreasing family structures,and more burdensome and prolonged caregiving tasks compared to healthy elderly individuals.These heavy caregiving responsibilities can increase the physical and psychological burden on caregivers,adversely affecting their overall health and well-being.Therefore,researching the factors that influence caregiver happiness is critical to better understanding their needs and problems,and providing them with better support and assistance.Based on this,this study will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research to examine the current state and influencing factors of subjective happiness among family caregivers of disabled elderly individuals,explore the relationship between self-disclosure and subjective happiness,and the mediating effects of social support and self-efficacy.Study 1 utilized qualitative research method to conduct in-depth interviews with 12 caregivers who have been providing long-term care for disabled elderly people.The aim was to investigate whether these caregivers overlook their own sense of well-being during the caregiving process,and to explore the factors that affect the subjective well-being of caregivers of disabled elderly people.Ultimately,the study found that the influencing factors of subjective well-being for caregivers of disabled elderly people include: self-disclosure(positive and negative),the caregiving relationship within the family(communication with the care recipient,parental presence,and the care recipient’s subjective well-being),the personal situation of the caregiver(health and financial status),the medical health situation of the care recipient(health status,treatment efficacy,and cooperation with caregiving tasks),social support(family and community support),and self-efficacy(perceived ability to cope with caregiving tasks and confidence in dealing with caregiving difficulties).Study 2 utilized a convenience sampling method to select 202 caregivers of disabled elderly people within Zhangzhou urban area and Yunxiao County of Fujian Province.General information questionnaires,The Distress Disclosure Index,General Self Efficacy Scale,Social Support Rate Scale and General Well-being Schedule were used to conduct testing.Hypothesis testing was conducted using SPSS 25.0 statistical software,with the final research results indicating significant differences in the self-disclosure,social support,self-efficacy,and subjective well-being of caregivers of disabled elderly people across different demographic characteristics.Furthermore,positive correlations were found between self-disclosure,social support,self-efficacy,and subjective well-being.Social support and self-efficacy were found to have a mediating effect between self-disclosure and subjective well-being.Analysis based on the background of Minnan culture and filial culture revealed that the personality characteristics of the study population were influenced by the culture of the Zhangzhou region.