EMPIRICAL VERIFICATION OF A THEORETICAL-MODEL DERIVED FROM THE ROY ADAPTATION MODEL - FINDINGS FROM 5 STUDIES

This article presents a theoretical model derived from the Roy adaptat ion model and the findings of an empirical verification of this model from five studies. Four groups of subjects were included in the studie s: informal caregivers of demented relatives at home, informal caregiv ers of psychiatrically ill relatives at home, professional caregivers of elderly institutionalized patients, and aged spouses in the communi ty. In at least three studies, a number of theoretical propositions de rived from the Roy adaptation model were supported using LISREL vm, th us adding credence to some tenets of Roy's model. Particularly, the fo cal stimulus of perceived stress, the contextual stimulus of conflicts in the exchange of social support, and one component of the coping me chanisms (the passive/avoidance coping strategies) were positively lin ked directly or indirectly with psychological distress, which is an in dicator of adaptation in the self-concept mode. Given their importance , these elements should be considered in the development of a middle-r ange theory of psychological adaptation derived from the Roy adaptatio n model.