Affective states and stress in health-professional caregivers of people with functional diversity: the important role of empathy and social support as mediators of this relationship
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iee.v43n1e12Keywords:
caregiver burden, intellectual disability, stress, empathy, social support, emotional regulationAbstract
Objective. The aim of this study was to analyse how empathy and social support mediate levels of perceived and relational stress, depending on the person's type of affect.
Methods. This was a multicentre, cross-sectional, descriptive study. The sample consisted of 756 working health professionals for people with functional diversity in the province of Valencia. The following scales were analysed: (i) Perceived Stress Scale; (ii) The Nurse Stress Scale; (iii): Empathy Quotient (EQ); (iv) Social Support Questionnaire, and (v) Scale of Positive and Negative Affects. Descriptive statistics, reliability tests, comparison of means, correlation coefficients and PROCESS were performed.
Results. The findings showed that stress was positively correlated with negative affects, and negatively correlated with empathy, social support and positive affects, and that these variables influence perceived stress, significantly reducing its levels, while the effect of these variables on relational stress was not significant.
Conclusion. The data obtained highlights the importance of empathy and a good social support network in these professionals and how this will influence the care and relationship with the users.
Downloads
References
1. Laleva K, Georgieva L. Types of caregivers. Varna Medical Forum. 2016; 5(0):347-50.
2. Bermejo JC. Counselling humanista: Cómo humanizar las relaciones de ayuda, San Pablo, Madrid 2018, 152 pp. ISBN: 978-84-285-5493-0. Razón y Fe. 2018; 278(1436):359.
3. Comas-d’Argemir D. Cuidados y derechos. El avance hacia la democratización de los cuidados. Cuadernos de Antropología Social. 2019; 0(49):13-29.
4. BOE-A-2006-21990 Ley 39/2006, de 14 de diciembre, de Promoción de la Autonomía Personal y Atención a las personas en situación de dependencia. 2006. Available from: https://www.boe.es/eli/es/l/2006/12/14/39/con
5. Del Pilar Asencios-Ortiz R, Pereyra-Zaldívar H. Carga de trabajo del cuidador según el nivel de funcionalidad de la persona con discapacidad en un distrito de Lima. Anales de la Facultad de Medicina. 2019; 80(4):451-6.
6. Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A Global Measure of Perceived Stress. Journal Of Health and Social Behavior. 1983; 24(4):385.
7. Lazarus RS, Folkman S. Personal control and stress and coping processes: A theoretical analysis. Journal Of Personality and Social Psychology. 1984; 46(4):839-52.
8. Jones W H, Cavert C W, Snider R L, Bruce T. Relational stress: An analysis of situations and events associated with loneliness. In: S. Duck & D. Perlman (Eds.). Understanding personal relationships: An interdisciplinary approach. 1985: 221–42). Sage Publications, Inc.
9. Ogden P. The different impact of trauma and relational stress on physiology, posture, and movement: Implications for treatment, European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. 2021; 5(4):100172.
10. Ajzen I. Nature and Operation of Attitudes. Annual Review of Psychology. 2001; 52(1):27-58.
11. Christian T, Beaujean AA, Wright W. Individual Differences in Affective States During Meditation. International Journal for The Psychology of Religion. 2015; 26(3):268-82.
12. Stanton K, Stasik-O’Brien SM, Ellickson-Larew S, Watson D. Positive Affectivity: Specificity of Its Facet Level Relations with Psychopathology. Cognitive Therapy and Research. 2016; 40(5):593-605.
13. Doyle ST, Sullivan TN. Longitudinal Relations Between Peer Victimization, Emotion Dysregulation, and Internalizing Symptoms Among Early Adolescents. The Journal of Early Adolescence. 2015; 37(2):165-91.
14. Möller HJ, Bandelow B, Volz HP, Barnikol UB, Seifritz E, Kasper S. The relevance of ‘mixed anxiety and depression’ as a diagnostic category in clinical practice. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. 2016; 266(8):725-36.
15. Montoya-Castilla I, Postigo S, Prado-Gascó V, Pérez-Marín M. Relationships between affective states and childhood internalizing disorders. Archives Of Psychiatric Nursing. 2018; 32(4):591-8.
16. Decety J, Michalska KJ, Kinzler KD. The Contribution of Emotion and Cognition to Moral Sensitivity: A Neurodevelopmental Study. Cerebral Cortex. 2011; 22(1):209-20.
17. Rueda P, Fernández-Berrocal P, Baron-Cohen S. Dissociation between cognitive and affective empathy in youth with Asperger Syndrome. European Journal of Developmental Psychology. 2014; 12(1):85-98.
18. Lin N, Dean A, Ensel WM. Social Support, Life Events, and Depression. Elsevier; 1986.
19. Yuguero O, Marsal JR, Esquerda M, Vivanco L, Soler-González J. Association between low empathy and high burnout among primary care physicians and nurses in Lleida, Spain. European Journal of General Practice. 2016; 23(1):4-10.
20. Barquín-Cuervo R, Medina-Gómez MB, De Albéniz-Garrote GP. El Uso de Estrategias de Afrontamiento del Estrés en Personas con Discapacidad Intelectual. Psychosocial Intervention. 2018; 27(2):89-94.
21. Harries J, Ng KYY, Wilson L, Kirby N, Ford J. Evaluation of the Work Safety and Psychosocial Wellbeing of Disability Support Workers. Australasian Journal of Organisational Psychology. 2015; 8:e9.
22. Vega-Angarita OM. Family Caregivers of Chronically III Patients: Perception of Functional Social Support. Aquichan. 2011; 11(3):274-86.
23. Lyubomirsky S, King L, Diener E. The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success? Psychological Bulletin. 2005; 131(6):803-55.
24. Rodríguez PR, García LB. El modelo AICP y sus beneficios en residencias de personas mayores: rebatiendo mitos desde el conocimiento científico y los principios de la ética. Papeles de la Fundación. 2022:8.
25. Rokstad AMM, Røsvik J, Kirkevold Ø, Selbaek G, Benth JS, Engedal K. The Effect of Person-Centred Dementia Care to Prevent Agitation and Other Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Enhance Quality of Life in Nursing Home Patients: A 10-Month Randomized Controlled Trial. Dementia And Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. 2013; 36(5-6):340-53.
26. Åhlin J, Ericson‐Lidman E, Norberg A, Strandberg G. A comparison of assessments and relationships of stress of conscience, perceptions of conscience, burnout and social support between healthcare personnel working at two different organizations for care of older people. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. 2014; 29(2):277-87
27. Meranius MS, Holmström IK, Håkansson J, Breitholtz A, Moniri F, Skogevall S, et al. Paradoxes of person‐centred care: A discussion paper. Nursing Open. 2020; 7(5):1321-9.
28. Wallin AO, Jakobsson U, Edberg AK. Job strain and stress of conscience among nurse assistants working in residential care. Journal of Nursing Management. 2013; 23(3):368-79.
29. Gray-Toft P, Anderson JG. Stress among hospital nursing staff: Its causes and effects. Social Science & Medicine Part A Medical Sociology. 1981;15(5):639-47.
30. Pons RM, Agüir VE. La versión castellana de la escala «the nursing stress scale». proceso de adaptación transcultural. Revista Española de Salud Pública.1998; 72(6):529-38.
31. Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S. The Empathy Quotient: An Investigation of Adults with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, and Normal Sex Differences. Journal Of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2004; 34(2):163-75.
32. Redondo I, Herrero-Fernández D. Adaptación del Empathy Quotient (EQ) en una muestra española. Terapia PsicolóGica. 2018; 36(2):81-9.
33. Broadhead WE, Gehlbach SH, De Gruy FV, Kaplan BH. The Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire. Medical Care. 1988; 26(7):709-23.
34. De la Revilla Ahumada L, Muñoz EB, De Dios Luna J, Delgado A, Quel MÁP, Fleitas L. Validación de una escala de apoyo social funcional para su uso en la consulta del médico de familia. Atención Primaria. 1991; 8(9):688-92.
35. Diener E, Wirtz D, Tov W, Kim-Prieto C, Choi DW, Oishi S, et al. New Well-being Measures: Short Scales to Assess Flourishing and Positive and Negative Feelings. Social Indicators Research. 2009; 97(2):143-56.
Published
Versions
- 2025-05-14 (2)
- 2025-05-03 (1)
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Investigación y Educación en Enfermería
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Derechos de propiedad / Direitos de Propriedade
English: If the article is accepted for publication, all copyright will be of exclusive property of Investigación y Educación en Enfermería. The text and the graphics included in the publication are exclusive responsibility of the authors and not necessarily reflect the thought of the Editorial Committee.
Español: Si el artículo es aprobado para publicación, todos los derechos son de propiedad de Investigación y Educación en Enfermería. El texto y las gráficas incluidas en la publicación son de exclusiva responsabilidad de los autores y no necesariamente refleja el pensamiento del Comité Editorial.
Português: Se o artigo for aceito para publicação, todos os direitos autorais serão de propriedade exclusiva de Investigación y Educación en Enfermería. O texto e os gráficos incluídos na publicação são de responsabilidade exclusiva dos autores e não refletem necessariamente o pensamento do Comitê Editorial.
