Burden and posttraumatic growth in adult caregivers of cancer patients

Caring for someone with cancer can be a traumatic experience since
the cancer diagnosis can lead to a significant amount of distress not only
for the patients but also for their caregivers. Indeed, many studies have
shown that caregivers of patients with cancer can experience higher levels
of anxiety, depression and poor quality of life, and that these levels are
equal or even greater than those found in patients. Nevertheless, more
recently, studies have also shown that not only patients, but also their
caregivers are able to experience positive changes in their lives as a result
of this traumatic event. In this chapter, we aimed to characterize a sample
of adult caregivers of patients with cancer by examining (1) the
associations between caregivers’ sociodemographic (gender) and patients’
clinical variables (length of patients’ disease and treatment as well as the
level of patients’ dependency) and psychological variables (caregiving
burden and posttraumatic growth), and (2) the associations between burden
and posttraumatic growth. Participants were 214 adult children caregivers
of parents with cancer (74% women; Mean age = 33.12; SD = 9.15), and
completed a Sociodemographic and Clinical Questionnaire, the Burden
Assessment Scale, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Overall,
disrupted activities were associated with a greater appreciation of life, guilt
and burden were associated with more changes in relating to others.
Moreover, women caregivers who reported to provide care for less than 1
a year, whose parents’ disease duration was less than 1 year, and those who
perceived their parent as completely dependent on their caregiving
experienced more burden but also more posttraumatic growth. These
exploratory findings suggest that caregivers may experience burden when
they care for a relative with cancer, but they are also able to experience
growth, especially in the way they relate with others and appreciate life.
Moreover, the results may help to identify caregivers who are at greater
risk for developing burden or may have more difficulties in experiencing
growth and for this reason are likely to benefit more from psychosocial
interventions.
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