Objective and Subjective Stress among Grandparents Providing Assistive Regular Grandchild Care

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Research on stress and coping has differentiated the effects of objective stress and subjective perceptions of stress on psychological and physical health, including in old age. This study examined the moderating role of social support in the relationship between objective and subjective stress with depressive and somatic symptoms in the context of Israeli grandparents. This cross-sectional study involved 243 grandparents who provided at least 5 hours a week of assistive regular care to their grandchildren, divided into lower and higher support groups. The results show that the levels of depressive and somatic symptoms were higher in the lower support group. Social support moderated the association between the intensity of care and perceived stress. Social support moderated the association between subjective stress and somatic symptoms. To conclude, the combination of high subjective stress and lower social support constitutes a risk factor for impaired psychological and physical health.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1820-1829
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Applied Gerontology
Volume42
Issue number8
Early online date5 Apr 2023
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.

Keywords

  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Grandparents/psychology
  • Humans
  • Intergenerational Relations
  • Medically Unexplained Symptoms
  • Social Support

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Objective and Subjective Stress among Grandparents Providing Assistive Regular Grandchild Care'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this