Caring for an institutionalized parent: the role of coping strategies.

This study extends knowledge about the stresses of caregiving by considering relationships between adult children and their institutionalized parents. Although previous studies have indicated that emotional strains experienced by adult children with institutionalized parents are of similar magnitude to those experienced by caregivers in the community, little attention has been paid to effects that may mediate the stressor-mental health relationship. Coping strategies were hypothesized as mediators of the stressor-mental health relationship. Data from 424 adult children with a parent living in a nursing home revealed that emotion-focused coping strategies mediate the relationship between stressors and mental health, whereas problem-focused coping strategies do not mediate this relationship. Findings emphasize the importance of examining coping strategies as multidimensional entities having differential effects on mental health.