Chin‑Chen Wena, Shao‑Yin Chub,c*
aDepartment of Human Development and Psychology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, bDepartment of Pediatrics, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan, cSchool of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
Open Access funded by Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation
Abstract
Objective: To elucidate how parenting stress influence depressive symptoms in the family caregivers of children with genetic or rare diseases by examining the mediation effects of coping strategies (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and dysfunctional coping) and self‑esteem. Materials and Methods: In total, 100 family caregivers were recruited and administered a questionnaire assessing demographics and study measures. We used the PROCESS for SPSS macro with 10,000 bootstrapped samples and a 95% confidence interval to test the proposed mediation models. Results: Increased parenting stress was associated with more depressive symptoms, partially via dysfunctional coping, but not problem‑ or emotion‑focused coping strategies. The serial multiple mediation pathway (parenting stress → low self‑esteem → dysfunctional coping → depressive symptoms) was not significant, whereas the indirect effect of via dysfunctional coping alone had a significantly partial mediation effect. Conclusions: Dysfunctional coping strategies may explain the parenting stress–depressive symptom relationship. The goals of psychosocial medical care for family caregivers were suggested.
Keywords: Coping strategies, Depressive symptoms, Genetic or rare diseases, Parenting stress, Self‑esteem
