Mediating role of caregiver burden among family caregivers of patients with Parkinson's disease in Mexico

Objective This study examined the mediating role of caregiver distress on family factors and caregiver life satisfaction among an understudied population of Parkinson's disease caregiver in Mexico. Methods A cross-sectional design was used to examine psychosocial factors pertinent to caregiver of individuals with Parkinson's disease (n = 95). Guided by a caregiver stress process model, relations among family factors (e.g., cohesion, flexibility, quality of functioning), gender, distress, and satisfaction with life among caregiver were examined. Mediation analyses were performed to test the role of caregiver distress on the associations between family factors, gender, and caregiver satisfaction with life. Results Mediation models demonstrated that caregiver distress fully mediated the relation between quality of family functioning and caregiver satisfaction with life and partially mediated the association between family flexibility and caregiver satisfaction with life. Caregiver gender did not emerge as a significant covariate, and null results were found in the model examining family cohesion as a predictor. Conclusion These results underscore the critical role of caregiver distress and family factors on features of caregiver well-being, notably satisfaction with life. This evidence also offers cross cultural evidence for the caregiver stress process model, which has primarily been observed in Western samples. Accordingly, the need to build and disseminate empirically supported family-based treatments that emphasize caregiver distress is warranted.