Caring for the caregiver while caring for the patient: exploring the dyadic relationship between patient spirituality and caregiver quality of life.

INTRODUCTION: Caregivers of cancer patients experience much psychological stress due to the heavy responsibility of caregiving. Dyadic studies on the patient-caregiver relationship have shown that caregivers' quality of life (QOL) are affected by their care recipients' psychological variables. In this exploratory study, focus is placed on spirituality in patients--an emerging area of interest--and its impact on their caregivers' QOL. Because of spirituality's links with optimism and resilience, they were also investigated as possible mediators in the dyadic relationship.
METHOD: Patients completed measures of spirituality (FACIT-Sp-12), optimism (LOT-R), and resilience (RAS); their family caregivers completed a measure of QOL (CQOLC). Both patients and family caregivers completed a sociodemographic survey. Regression analyses were used to analysis the data.
RESULTS: Regression analyses following Baron and Kenny's (1986) mediation framework was carried out. Results indicated that spirituality as a whole did not predict caregiver QOL. However, further analyses showed that while the meaning-making aspect of spirituality did predict caregiver QOL, the faith aspect did not. Mediatory analyses indicated that both optimism and resilience were not mediators; hence, confirmatory Sobel's tests which had been originally planned were not conducted. Nonetheless, optimism and resilience were correlated with meaning-making. DISCUSSION: Patients who make meaning of their cancer illness exert a positive influence on their caregivers' well-being. This provides support for interventions that encourage patients to reappraise their illness situation, as such interventions not only benefit patients but also enhance the quality of life for their caregivers.