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Influence of caregiver personality on the burden of family caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2015

Ha-Hyun Kim ,
Seon-Young Kim ,
Jae-Min Kim ,
Sung-Wan Kim ,
Il-Seon Shin ,
Hyun-Jeong Shim ,
Jun-Eul Hwang ,
Ik-Joo Chung  and
Jin-Sang Yoon
Ha-Hyun Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Il Gok Yangji Hospital, Gwangju, Korea
Seon-Young Kim*
Affiliation:
Mental Health Clinic, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, Korea Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
Jae-Min Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
Sung-Wan Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
Il-Seon Shin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
Hyun-Jeong Shim
Affiliation:
Department of Hemato-Oncology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
Jun-Eul Hwang
Affiliation:
Department of Hemato-Oncology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
Ik-Joo Chung
Affiliation:
Department of Hemato-Oncology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
Jin-Sang Yoon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Seon-Young Kim, Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju 501-757, Republic of Korea. E-Mail: sykimpsy@chonnam.ac.kr
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Abstract

Objective:

To determine the influence of caregiver personality and other factors on the burden of family caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients.

Method:

We investigated a wide range of factors related to the patient–family caregiver dyad in a palliative care setting using a cross-sectional design. Caregiver burden was assessed using the seven-item short version of the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI–7). Caregiver personality was assessed using the 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI–10), which measures the following five personality dimensions: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Patient- and caregiver-related sociodemographic and psychological factors were included in the analysis because of their potential association with caregiver burden. Clinical patient data were obtained from medical charts or by using other measures. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to identify the independent factors associated with caregiver burden.

Results:

We analyzed 227 patient–family caregiver dyads. The multivariate analysis revealed that caregiver extroversion was protective against caregiver burden, whereas depressive symptoms in caregivers were related to increased burden. Neuroticism was positively correlated with caregiver burden, but this relationship was nonsignificant following adjustment for depressive symptoms. Patient-related factors were not significantly associated with caregiver burden.

Significance of Results:

Evaluating caregiver personality traits could facilitate identification of individuals at greater risk of high burden. Furthermore, depression screening and treatment programs for caregivers in palliative care settings are required to decrease caregiver burden.

Keywords

BurdenPersonalityExtroversionDepressionPalliative care
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , February 2016 , pp. 5 - 12
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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