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Dissertation
Examining The Coping Skills Of Unpaid Family Caregivers During Caregiving And Bereavement
University of West Florida Libraries
Doctor of Education (EDD), University of West Florida
2022
Abstract
This study addressed the educational problem of negative consequences resulting from a lack of knowledge about interventions to support unpaid family caregivers. The purpose of this qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was to explore the lived experiences of unpaid family caregivers during the caregiving and bereavement processes—specifically, those skills related to acknowledgment of loss, problem-solving, and decision-making. The 15 participants were non-Hispanic European Americans, college-educated, living in the Southern United States, age 58–81 years. I used semistructured interviews to collect data and two-cycle coding methods to analyze the data. Baltes’ (1997) life-span development theory provided a framework for lifelong human development. Specifically, the theoretical constructs of selection, optimization, and compensation highlighted the process of adaptation during caregiving and bereavement. Findings show that participants relied on practical and professional helpers. Findings also show the importance of end-of-life conversations and fulfilling end-of-life requests. Additionally, findings identified the importance of family caregivers’ use of life-review and reliance on personal faith. Finally, the link between findings and theory is revealed in how caregivers and care recipients used different constructs of selection, optimization, and compensation for adaptation, problem-solving, and decision-making. Policy implications include support for family caregivers’ through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Organizational implications for practice include educational intervention for caregiving and bereavement support services. Future research should expand use of the theoretical constructs of selection, optimization, and compensation to include cognitive and psychological flexibility frameworks. Future studies should also explore how caregivers use life-review during caregiving and bereavement adaptation.
Details
- Title
- Examining The Coping Skills Of Unpaid Family Caregivers During Caregiving And Bereavement
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Contributors
- Wilson Maina (Committee Chair)Carla J. Thompson (Committee Member)
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries
- Format
- pdf
- Number of pages
- 298
- Copyright
- Unpublished work © Adrienne Nicole Swearingen Stoner
- Identifiers
- 99380092597006600
- Academic Unit
- School of Education
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Doctor of Education (EDD)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Education (EDD), University of West Florida