Page 26 - JCBP-1-2

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Psychological control, sense of benefit, and burden on caregivers

the sense of benefit (M); “b” represents the indirect effect 4. Conclusions
of the sense of benefit (M) on the burden of care (Y) under
the condition of control X; “c” is the direct effect of the In this study, a total of 182 caregivers of children with
sense of psychological control (X) on the burden of care congenital bone malformation treated at Hospital L
(Y) of the mediation variable (M). Therefore, in this study, of Shanghai were assessed using general demographic
the sense of psychological control of the independent information scale, general sense of control scale, sense
variable, the burden of the dependent variable, and of benefit scale, and care burden scale to study the care
the sense of benefit of the intermediary variable were burden and explore its influencing factors and underlying
successively input to establish the schematic diagram of mechanism. The results are concluded as follows:
the intermediary variable, as shown in Figures 1 and 2: (i). The burden score of the 182 caregivers for children
with congenital bone malformation ranged from
Bootstrap is a non-parametric Monte Carlo method 3 to 73, with an average score of 36.46, indicating
used to resample the observed information and then that the caregiver burden was at a mild-to-moderate
make statistical inferences about the distribution level [19,20] . Specifically, the personal burden scores
characteristics of the population. In the present study, ranged from 1 to 40, with an average score of 21.13,
the mediation effect was tested using the Bootstrap test while the responsibility burden scores ranged from 0
method proposed by Zhonglin et al. , and the results are to 21, with an average score of 8.55. The results reveal
[18]
as follows (Table 4): that the personal burden of the caregiver was higher
From the test results, the first coefficient, “c,” was than their burden of responsibility [21,22] .
significant (P < 0.001). This indicates that the total effect (ii). The psychological sense of control, the sense of
“c” of the sense of psychological control on the burden of benefit, and the burden of care of 182 caregivers of
care is statistically significant, supporting the presence of children with congenital bone malformation showed
an intermediary effect. Next, the path coefficient “a” of a pairwise correlation. Specifically, there was a
the sense of psychological control on the sense of benefit significant negative correlation between the sense
[23]
was 0.84 (P < 0.001), and the confidence interval does of psychological control and the burden of care ,
not include 0, confirming the statistical significance of indicating a significant negative correlation between
this path. The path coefficient “b” of the sense of benefit the sense of benefit and care burden and a significant
on care burden was -0.35 (P < 0.001), and the confidence positive correlation between the sense of benefit and
interval did not include 0, confirming the statistical the sense of psychological control.
significance of this path. Both coefficients “a” and “b” were (iii). The factors influencing the caregiving burden
significant, indicating a significant indirect effect (a*b), include general demographic information of children
which represents the mediator effect. Regarding the direct and caregivers, as well as the sense of benefit and
effect coefficient “c,” it was tested and found to be -0.47 psychological control. Regression analysis revealed
(P < 0.001), and the confidence interval did not include that the age of the children significantly affects the
0, proving that the pathway varies significantly and care burden, with younger children leading to a
indicating a significant direct effect. The total effect “c” is greater care burden on caregivers. At the same time,
equal to “c’” added with a*b, which results in c = −0.76. the age of caregivers also significantly affects the level
This finding leads to the conclusion that the mediation of care burden , with caregivers aged 40 – 50 years
[24]
effect exists. Specifically, the sense of benefit plays a partial old experiencing a greater care burden, while those
mediation role between the sense of psychological control aged 30 – 40 years old experience a lower care burden.
and care burden, with a mediation effect ratio of 38.58%. In addition, the monthly family income also has a

Table 4. Test of the mediating role of benefit sense between the sense of psychological control and care burden

Path Coefficient Effect size Standard error 95% confidence interval
Lower limit Upper limit
“A sense of benefit” to “Psychological control sense” a 0.84*** 0.04 0.76 0.92
“Psychological control sense” to “Care burden” c −0.76*** 0.05 −0.86 −0.67
“A sense of benefit” to “Care burden” B −0.35*** 0.09 −0.58 −0.18
“Psychological control sense” to “A sense of benefit” and c’ −0.47*** 0.09 −0.64 −0.30
“Care burden”
Notes: N=182; *P<0.05; **P<0.01; ***P<0.001.

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 7 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.1041