Publication Abstract Display
Type: Published Manuscript
Title: The relationship between self-efficacy and resting blood pressure in spousal Alzheimer's caregivers.
Authors: Harmell AL
Year: 2011
Publication: British Journal of Health Psychology
Volume: 16 Issue: Pt 2 Pages: 317-328
Abstract:Objective To examine whether high levels of self-efficacy for problem-focused coping were significantly related to several resting BP measures in spousal Alzheimer`s disease caregivers. Design Cross-sectional. Methods Participants included 100 older caregivers (mean age=73.8+/-8.14 years) providing in home care for a spouse with Alzheimer`s disease. All participants completed a 13-item short form of the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale and underwent an in-home assessment where a visiting nurse took the average of three serial BP readings. Multiple regression was used to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and mean arterial pressure (MAP), systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and pulse pressure (PP) after controlling for age, gender, smoking history, body mass index, the care recipient`s clinical dementia rating, diabetes, alcohol use, and the use of antihypertensive medications. Results Overall, high levels of self-efficacy for problem-focused coping were associated with lower MAP, SBP, and PP. Self-efficacy for problem-focused coping was marginally associated with resting DBP, but not significant. In addition, we conducted secondary analyses of the other two self-efficacy scales to explore the relationship between each dimension and MAP. We found that there were no significant relationships found between MAP and self-efficacy for stopping unpleasant thoughts/emotions or self-efficacy for getting social support. Conclusions The present study adds to the current body of literature by illustrating the possibility that higher self-efficacy can have physiological advantages, perhaps by buffering chronic stress`s impact on resting BP. Another contribution of the current study is its attempt to understand the role of each individual component of self-efficacy. These findings invite future research to investigate whether caregivers might experience cardiovascular benefits from interventions aimed at enhancing self-efficacy.

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