Subjective caregiver burden and coping in family carers of dependent adults and older people: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Subjective caregiver burden is highly prevalent in family caregivers. Despite several studies investigating the relationship between subjective caregiver burden and coping strategies, results remain inconsistent. The aim of our study was to systematically review current literature on the relationship between subjective caregiver burden and coping in family carers of dependent adults and older people. A secondary objective was to analyse possible sources of heterogeneity in the estimated effect. The study design was a systematic review with meta‐analysis following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses statement (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched several international databases (CINAHL, LILACS, PsycINFO and PubMed) up to February 2024. We performed several subgroup analyses to examine whether study design, methodological quality or care recipient dependency influenced results. Of the 1064 records identified in our search, a total of 80 studies met inclusion criteria. We found a significant association between greater use of dysfunctional coping and higher levels of subjective caregiver burden (r = 0.400; 95% CI = 0.315, 0.478); higher use of second‐order active coping was significantly associated with lower caregiver burden (r = −0.213; 95% CI = −0.316, −0.105). Problem‐focused coping showed no statistically significant association with levels of subjective burden; emotion‐focused coping was associated with caregiver burden only after controlling for confounding variables (r = −0.258; 95% CI = −0.441, −0.055); several individual strategies of this dimension such as acceptance (r = −0.135; 95% CI = −0.238, −0.028), positive reappraisal (r = −0.178; 95% CI = −0.255, −0.099) and religious coping (r = −0.083; 95% CI = −0.162, −0.002), were associated with lower burden. We found that several dimensions of coping strategies are significantly associated with levels of subjective caregiver burden experienced by carers. These results can inform future research evaluating the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving carers' mental health.