ANN ARBOR—Blackwomen caregivers feel less depressed when they receive family nurturing, a new study shows.

Knowing how family interactions influence these caregivers’ mental health may help service providers create appropriate intervention programs if caregivers are feeling depressed, said Letha Chadiha, a researcher in the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work.

The Journal of Family Issues published the findings in its March issue. Chadiha, associate professor, collaborated on the article with lead author Philip Rozario of Adelphi University and Enola Proctor and Nancy Morrow-Howell, both of Washington University.

Chadiha, whose research expertise is African American family relations, said African American elders aged 65 and over often receive personal and daily care from family members, usually daughters and wives.

“Providing care to an elderly family member can involve much energy and time that can tax the psychological health of these caregivers,” she said. “Social resources—such as receiving help from family members (shopping, running errands or helping financially) and obtaining secondary informal help—allow caregivers to deal with challenges that may influence their psychological health in both positive and negative ways.”

The study of 100 African American wives and 258 daughters who are caregivers, based on a larger regional study, asked them how often they felt depressed and what factors influenced their lives.

As caregivers of older African Americans, wives may feel alone or obligated in providing care to husbands. This predisposes wives to poor psychological health due to little or no resources from others in caregiving, Chadiha said.

In contrast, daughters may be more predisposed to poor psychological health resulting from multiple caregiving roles, such as providing care to a minor child and an elderly parent.

The National Institute of Aging and Office of Research for Women’s Health funded the study.

For more information on Chadiha, visit: / www.ssw.umich.edu/about/profiles/profile-lethac.html

School of Social Work: www.ssw.umich.edu/

Journal of Family Issues: http://jfi.sagepub.com/current.dtl

Letha A. ChadihaSchool of Social WorkJournal of Family Issues