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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1366143
This article is part of the Research Topic Exploring Mental Health in Vulnerable Populations in Developing Countries View all 14 articles

Affiliate Stigma Among Family Caregivers of Individuals with Dementia in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Provisionally accepted
Yingying Shi Yingying Shi Shishi Dong Shishi Dong Zhiqi Liang Zhiqi Liang Mengting Xie Mengting Xie Hanyi Zhang Hanyi Zhang Sixie Li Sixie Li Jufang Li Jufang Li *
  • Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Affiliate stigma experienced by family caregivers of individuals with dementia may seriously affect the home care and prognosis of these patients. This study aimed to explore the levels of perceived affiliate stigma and its influencing factors among family caregivers of patients with dementia in mainland China, which remains a relatively unexplored topic. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, purposive sampling was used to recruit dementia family caregivers from an online communication group between April and May 2022. A total of 727 eligible caregivers were included and asked to complete the Demographic Questionnaire, the Affiliate Stigma Scale, and the Caregiver Burden Inventory. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression were used to explore the factors that influence perceived affiliate stigma among dementia family caregivers. Results: The mean score for affiliate stigma a dementia family caregivers was 48.09±16.38 (range: 22–88). Whether there were regular breaks during patient care, time-dependent burden, developmental burden, physical burden, and social burden were significant factors influencing the affiliate stigma of dementia family caregivers. Conclusions: Dementia family caregivers showed a moderate to high level of affiliate stigma. Those who had regular breaks during patient care; higher time-dependent burden, developmental burden, and physical burden; and lower social burden exhibited higher levels of affiliate stigma.

    Keywords: Dementia, Family caregiver, Affiliate stigma, China, caregiver burden

    Received: 12 Jan 2024; Accepted: 13 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shi, Dong, Liang, Xie, Zhang, Li and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jufang Li, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325035, Zhejiang Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.