Mind-Body Practice and Family Caregivers' Subjective Well-Being: Findings From the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study


Author: Kallol Kumar Bhattacharyya1, Yin Liu1, Neha P Gothe2,3, Elizabeth B Fauth1

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Utah State University, Logan, USA.

<sup>2</sup> University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, USA.

<sup>3</sup> Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Conference/Journal: Gerontol Geriatr Med
Date published: 2023 Jul 4
Other:
 Volume ID: 9   ,  Pages: 23337214231185912   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1177/23337214231185912.   ,  Word Count: 217  
    Objectives: Informal caregiving has been associated with higher stress and lower levels of subjective well-being. Mind-body practices including yoga, tai chi, and Pilates also incorporate stress reducing activities. The current study aimed to examine the association between mind-body practice and subjective well-being among informal family caregivers. Methods: A sample of informal caregivers were identified in the Midlife in the United States study (N = 506, M ± SDage = 56 ± 11, 67% women). We coded mind-body practice into three categories, including regular practice (participating in one or more of them "a lot" or "often"), irregular (participating "sometimes" and "rarely") and no practice ("never"). Subjective well-being was measured using the 5-item global life satisfaction scale and the 9-item mindfulness scale. We used multiple linear regression models to examine associations between mind-body practice and caregivers' subjective well-being, controlling for covariates of sociodemographic factors, health, functional status, and caregiving characteristics. Results: Regular practice was associated with both better mindfulness-related well-being (b = 2.26, p < .05) and better life satisfaction (b = 0.43, p < .05), after controlling for covariates. Discussion: Future research should examine whether there is a selection effect of caregivers with higher well-being being more likely to choose these activities, and/or if mind-body practices are effective non-pharmacological interventions to improve family caregivers' quality of life.



Keywords: MIDUS; informal caregiver; mind-body practice; quality of life; well-being.



PMID: 37435003 PMCID: PMC10331065 DOI: 10.1177/23337214231185912