Latent profile analysis of benefit finding among among family caregivers of Chinese older adults with disability and its influencing factors

Abstract

Abstract Objective To explore the characteristics of potential categories of benefit finding among family caregivers of Chinese older adults with disability, and to analyze the differences in the characteristics of different categories of caregivers and related influencing factors. Methods Convenience sampling was used to consecutively select family caregivers of disabled older adults in Zhongshan Community, Bayi Community, Beishi Community Health Service Center, and Neurology, Rehabilitation, and Geriatrics Departments of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China, from October 2022-June 2023 as the survey respondents. General Information Questionnaire, Sense of Coherence-13(SOC-13),Simplified Copying Style Questionnaire(SCSQ) and Benefit Finding Sacle(BFS)were used to conduct the survey. Mplus 8.3 and SPSS25.0 software were applied for Latent profile analysis and statistical analysis. Results A total of 218 family caregivers of older adults with disability were surveyed, and the caregiver benefit score was 57.00 (47.00, 67.25); the caregiver benefit was expressed in three different potential categories, named "low-level benefit finding group" (43.58%), "medium-level benefit finding group" (43.58%), and "high-level benefit finding group" (12.84%). Ordered logistic regression analyses showed that years of caregiving experience of family caregivers of the disabled elderly, work status, family functioning, and coping styles were the factors influencing the potential profile categories of benefit finding (P < 0.05). Conclusion The benefit finding of family caregivers of older adults with disability are at a low level and are significantly heterogeneous. It is recommended that clinicians and community workers focus on family caregivers of disabled older adults with short caregiving years and those who are working, and guide family caregivers of disabled older adults to improve the family support system, adopt positive coping styles, promote the perception of benefits, and improve the life satisfaction of disabled older adults.