Role integration and perceived health in Asian American women caregivers

In this study, role involvement, role integration (including role stress an d role satisfaction), and perceived health were examined in 50 Asian Americ an women who were caregivers of aging parents in addition to being wives, m others, and employees. Their mean age was 47.8 years. Twenty-nine of the pa rticipants were Chinese and 21 Filipino, with an average length of caregivi ng for each group of 11 years. All participants were born outside the Unite d States. instruments used in the study were translated and back-translated into Chinese and Tagalog and tested for validity and reliability. The asso ciation of role involvement, role integration, role stress, and role satisf action with perceived physical and psychological health in the combined and separate groups was examined. Role involvement was not associated with hea lth in the combined group of caregivers but was associated with overall hea lth in the sample of Chinese women. Role integration was positively associa ted with all three perceived health measures in the Filipino group but not in the Chinese group. Role satisfaction was consistently high in both group s. Role satisfaction and psychological well-being were significantly correl ated for the combined group and for the Filipino caregivers. Total role str ess was significantly correlated with overall health and current health onl y in the combined group. Thus, support that helps to decrease role stress a nd to increase role satisfaction may be more effective than efforts to decr ease the extent of role involvement. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.