Introduction

Caregiving is assisting and supporting people who, due to physical, mental, or emotional problems, cannot perform activities of daily living (Kleinman, 2012). Caregiving involves helping the care receiver by carrying out activities such as bathing, clothing, eating, giving medication, and offering emotional support. Caregiving can be a rewarding but challenging experience because it causes much stress, which can affect the caregivers’ physical and mental health. Kazemi et al. (2021) suggest that caregiving stressors are a significant problem, and caregivers experience depression, anxiety, and burnout due to numerous stressors, such as physical and emotional demands, monetary and legal concerns, and social and cultural expectations. In this regard, this paper draws from the transactional theory of stress and coping by investigating the stressors induced by caregiving and the personal, social, and environmental factors that contribute to these stressors. It also examines the coping strategies caregivers use to deal with stressors. The paper argues that caregiving is a challenging profession with stressors that hinder effective service delivery. However, effective coping resources and strategies can help deal with stress-induced caregiving.

Critical Analysis and Discussion

Selective Stressors in Caregivers

Numerous research endeavors have demonstrated that individuals undertaking caregiving roles confront an array of selective stressors that can gravely impede their physical and emotional well-being. Pearlin et al.’s (1990) scholarly investigation has conclusively revealed that the augmented workload is a stressor directly associated with caregiving. Caregivers are burdened with sundry obligations like tending to children, managing households, and endowing customized care to those they serve; this inevitably engenders feelings of inadequacy, exhaustion, and overwhelming sensations instead of amplified responsibilities. Hsiao (2010) suggests that different aspects complementary to the experience, such as informal or formal caregiving and the amount of social support available for the caregiver, relate to deferring levels generated by these caregivers’ stress. Informal caregiving invariably proves more daunting than formal caregiving while further accentuated by diminished social support translating into inclemently elevated levels of abject distress susceptibility among caregivers.

It has been previously posited through extensive research that caregivers are exposed to developing mental afflictions such as anxiety, depression, and burnout compared to individuals not undertaking this arduous responsibility (Manalel et al., 2022). This may be attributed to the multitude of emotionally taxing situations where caregivers must engage about demands on their physical and intellectual well-being, fiscal and legal obligations, and social responsibilities shaped by cultural norms. A study by Parks et al. (2018) demonstrated that a combination of demanding physical tasks associated with caregiving duties compounded by a lack of personal respite coupled with inadequate support from one’s network proves particularly distressing for caregivers; indeed, it has been firmly established that these individuals experience substantially higher levels of stress when compared against non-caregivers. Furthermore, profoundly deep relationships between caregiver and recipient, such as parent-child connections, exert pressure on an already heavily burdened caretaker, further inflaming risks inducing spiked stress levels when weighed against circumstances managed by care providers holding distant relationships (Kulkarni et al., 2014).

According to Kazemi et al. (2021), financial strain is a stressor associated with caregiving because caregiving can be expensive, especially if the recipient requires specialized equipment or medical care. Caregivers must take time off or reduce their work hours to provide care, resulting in a loss of income because the financial strain can cause stress, anxiety, and depression for caregivers. In addition to workload and financial strain, caregivers also experience emotional stressors (Aneshensel et al., 1993). The emotional stress associated with caregiving can lead to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Providing care to close compatriots can be emotionally taxing, making caregivers experience guilt, anger, frustration, and grief (Aneshensel et al., 1993).

Personal, Social, and Environmental Factors Contributing to Stressors

Several personal factors have been identified as contributing to the stressors experienced by caregivers. According to Baumgartner and Schneider (2020), personality traits such as neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and agreea