Does filial piety decrease depression among family caregivers?

Objectives: To examine the effects of filial piety - the practice of filial respect of and care for parents - on depressive symptoms among adult children caregivers of elderly Arab parents in Israel, and to identify factors that may mediate the association. Method: Cross-sectional data were collected in 2006-2007 by a structured interview from 250 randomly sampled Arab-Israeli adult children caregivers (response rate, 94%). Path analysis was used to examine the study objectives. Results: Filial piety was not directly related to depression, but rather worked indirectly through caregiving burden. Caregiver depression was predicted positively by caregiving burden, while burden was predicted negatively by filial piety. Sense of mastery emerged as a major (negative) predictor and as a mediator between caregiving burden and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The analysis showed that caregiving burden in this population of traditional caregivers was associated with depressive symptoms, while most other variables were mediated through caregiving burden, sense of mastery, or filial piety. Researchers and practitioners should be sensitive to issues of family care among such traditional populations in transition.