Psychological resilience and depressive symptoms among family caregivers of disabled people: the mediating role of caregiver burden and the moderating role of family functioning.

Authors

Zhuoya Yang, Kexin Wei, Chong Wang, Yitong Liu, Yuexia Gao, Miaomiao Zhao, Fang Lu, Yaqin Zhong

Published in

Frontiers in psychology. Volume 17. Pages 1852506. Epub Aug 14, 2026.

Abstract

Family caregivers of disabled older adults frequently face significant challenges that are associated with their mental health. Psychological resilience and family functioning may be associated with depressive symptoms among this population. Nevertheless, the mechanisms behind this relationship have received limited attention. In this study, we examined whether caregiver burden serves as a mediating factor and family functioning as a moderating factor in the link between psychological resilience and depressive symptoms among family caregivers of individuals with disabilities.
A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Nantong and Taizhou, eastern China, from December 2023 to May 2024. Data were collected using the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the 12-item Zarit Burden Interview, the 10-item short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the Family APGAR Scale. A moderated mediation model was tested using bootstrap and simple slope procedures.
A total of 353 caregivers completed the survey. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 31.59%. Higher psychological resilience was significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms. This relationship was partially mediated by caregiver burden. In addition, family functioning moderated the mediated relationship, indicating that the indirect effect of psychological resilience on depressive symptoms via caregiver burden varied across levels of family functioning.
These findings suggest that psychological resilience, caregiver burden, and family functioning are jointly associated with depressive symptoms in family caregivers of disabled older adults. Interventions targeting psychological resilience and family functioning may be associated with reduced caregiver burden and depressive symptoms in this population.

PMID:
42666220
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Aug 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.