Date of Award

8-1-2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education, Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Jesse Owen, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Trisha Raque-Bogdan, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Tara Raines

Fourth Advisor

Kathy Green

Keywords

Caregivers, Determinants, Disability, Informal, Military, Spouses

Abstract

Although the current body of research in the field of informal caregivers is extensive, this research focuses on the experiences of civilian caregivers. This focus contributes to limited knowledge regarding factors that influence the experiences of individuals who provide care to ill and/or wounded service members. Although limited, this research suggests that military caregivers often experience higher levels of distress when compared to the national average. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between the veteran’s level of disability and dyadic stress on the military caregiver’s overall sense of well-being. Additionally, this study examined the moderating effects of attachment and social support on these relationships. The sample consisted of (N = 70) military caregivers. Results of our regression analysis indicated that the quality of the caregiving relationship significantly and negatively predicted both dissatisfaction with life and caregiver burden. Additionally, examination of the moderating effect of our internal moderator (i.e., attachment style), indicated that having a secure sense of attachment moderates the effects of low relationship satisfaction on the caregiver’s overall sense of well-being. Further analysis of moderating variables yielded a statistically significant effect of our external moderator (i.e., the caregiver’s perceived availability of social support) on the relationship between the veteran’s level of disability and the military caregiver’s overall sense of well-being. This dissertation provides insight into determinants of well-being among military caregivers and as such provides implications for future research, clinical practice and theory.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Ludwig Marcello Martinez

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

143 p.

Discipline

Psychology

Download



Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS