Neighborhood Context and Caregiver Burden among the Mexican-origin Population

• In Event: 499 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtable Session.
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtables Session. Table 01. Caregiving

Abstract

Using newly available data on family caregivers from a large epidemiological study of elderly Mexican-origin adults (Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly, HEPESE, 2010/2011), we investigate the relationship between neighborhood level characteristics and caregiver psychological well-being. Results show that caregivers (N=615) providing support to elderly family members who report high levels of neighborhood solidarity report less depressive symptoms that those providing care to elderly living in less cohesive neighborhoods. In particular, close-knit and trustworthy neighborhoods are more salient for caregiver distress than availability of tangible support exchanges and shared values. These findings suggest that neighborhood-level characteristics should be incorporated into the caregiver stress process model and that targeting meso-level structures should be the focus on intervention strategies for caregiver burden among the Mexican-origin population.

Authors

• Sunshine Marie Rote, University of Louisville

• Jacqueline L. Angel, University of Texas-Austin

• Kyriakos S. Markides, University of Texas-Medical Branch