TY - JOUR
T1 - Mothering in the Context of Mental Disorder
T2 - Effect of Caregiving Load on Maternal Health in a Predominantly Hispanic Sample
AU - Matsuda, Yui
AU - McCabe, Brian E.
AU - Behar-Zusman, Victoria
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award No. U54MD002266 (The Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities [CLaRO]). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - BACKGROUND: Mothering in the context of mental disorders presents with multiple challenges. However, this phenomenon is poorly understood: It is not known how child caregiving affects the health of their mothers. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to examine associations between child caregiving load and health indicators in mothers receiving outpatient behavioral health services for mental or substance use disorders. METHOD: A total of 172 mothers (80% Hispanic/Latina) completed surveys on their mental and physical health, and children’s behaviors and medical problems. Child caregiving load consisted of number of children living with the mother, and presence of children’s internalizing, externalizing, or medical problems. RESULTS: Child caregiving load had significantly positive associations with mother’s psychological distress, fatigue, pain, and body mass index. Child internalizing and medical problems were associated with mothers’ poor health status. CONCLUSIONS: Hispanics/Latinos experience health disparities, and Hispanic/Latina mothers who are already at risk due to their mental disorders experience an additional health burden associated with caring for children with emotional or health problems. Psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioners should assess child caregiving impact on mothers with mental disorders and seek to mitigate their caregiving burden and maintain their health. Further research is needed to clarify child characteristics and the mechanisms associated with maternal caregiver burden, suboptimal self-care, and adverse health outcomes. Structural Ecosystems Therapy for women in Recovery (SET-R) study/Healthy Home; Clinical Trial ID NCT02702193.
AB - BACKGROUND: Mothering in the context of mental disorders presents with multiple challenges. However, this phenomenon is poorly understood: It is not known how child caregiving affects the health of their mothers. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to examine associations between child caregiving load and health indicators in mothers receiving outpatient behavioral health services for mental or substance use disorders. METHOD: A total of 172 mothers (80% Hispanic/Latina) completed surveys on their mental and physical health, and children’s behaviors and medical problems. Child caregiving load consisted of number of children living with the mother, and presence of children’s internalizing, externalizing, or medical problems. RESULTS: Child caregiving load had significantly positive associations with mother’s psychological distress, fatigue, pain, and body mass index. Child internalizing and medical problems were associated with mothers’ poor health status. CONCLUSIONS: Hispanics/Latinos experience health disparities, and Hispanic/Latina mothers who are already at risk due to their mental disorders experience an additional health burden associated with caring for children with emotional or health problems. Psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioners should assess child caregiving impact on mothers with mental disorders and seek to mitigate their caregiving burden and maintain their health. Further research is needed to clarify child characteristics and the mechanisms associated with maternal caregiver burden, suboptimal self-care, and adverse health outcomes. Structural Ecosystems Therapy for women in Recovery (SET-R) study/Healthy Home; Clinical Trial ID NCT02702193.
KW - Hispanic/Latina
KW - child caregiving
KW - mental disorders
KW - mothers
KW - mothers’ health
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U2 - 10.1177/1078390320907693
DO - 10.1177/1078390320907693
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85081633972
JO - Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association
JF - Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association
SN - 1078-3903
ER -