Mutuality and Preparedness as Predictors of Caregiver Role Strain

Key findings used in wiki

• Introduces preparedness for caregiving as a construct distinct from mutuality (relationship quality) and from willingness — the study that originated the Preparedness for Caregiving Scale lineage.
• In 78 caregiver–care-receiver dyads followed 6 weeks and 9 months after the care receiver's hospital discharge, higher preparedness was associated with lower caregiver role strain, after controlling for five other known predictors of strain — though preparedness did not remove all aspects of strain.
• Supports treating preparedness (having the practical, emotional, and organizational footing to provide care) as measurable and separable from whether a caregiver is willing or relationally close to the care receiver — the basis for assessing willingness, ability, and availability as distinct dimensions rather than assuming one from another.