Racial differences in perceived burden of rural dementia caregivers: The mediating effect of religiosity

Fei Sun, Jordan I. Kosberg, James Leeper, Allan V. Kaufman, Louis Burgio

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    34 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    This study explores whether religiosity explains racial differences in caregiving burden for a rural sample of dementia family caregivers. Data are from a probability sample of 74 non-Hispanic White and 67 African American dementia caregivers in rural Alabama. SPSS macros for estimating indirect effects in multiple mediator models are used to test the mediation effects of religiosity. White caregivers report higher burden, are less likely to use religious coping, and less likely to engage in organized religion than do African American caregivers. Church attendance is found to significantly (B = -.57, p <.05) mediate the racial differences on caregiving burden (R 2 =.07). Religious involvement in general, and church attendance in particular, seem to provide both spiritual and social psychological benefits to dementia caregivers. Thus, supplementing formal services with the services provided by religious organizations may be important in rural areas where formal resources are scarce.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)290-307
    Number of pages18
    JournalJournal of Applied Gerontology
    Volume29
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Jun 2010

    Keywords

    • Dementia caregiving
    • Race
    • Religiosity
    • Rural

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Gerontology
    • Geriatrics and Gerontology

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