Examining prospective memory and well-being among parents of children with chronic conditions.

Abstract

Objective: Much of the literature that examines well-being in parent caregivers of children with chronic conditions addresses psychosocial correlates. Yet, few studies address an integral cognitive aspect of daily life, prospective memory (PM), in association with parent well-being. The present work addressed this gap and examined parents' self-reported PM demands related to managing their child's chronic conditions and frequency of PM forgetting to well-being.

Methods: A sample of 149 parents of children with chronic conditions completed an online survey including measures of parent and family demographics, PM demands, PM forgetting, perceptions of parenting self-efficacy, and well-being: depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, general stress, and parenting-related stress. Hierarchical regression analyses evaluated the unique contributions of PM demands and forgetting to each well-being outcome over-and-above other known demographic correlates and perceptions of parenting self-efficacy.

Results: Analyses suggested that PM experiences, particularly forgetting, explained a significantly greater proportion of variance in each well-being outcome beyond the demographic factors and perceptions of parenting self-efficacy. Additionally, exploratory analyses revealed that there was an indirect effect of PM forgetting on each wellbeing outcome via self-efficacy, suggesting that greater confidence in one's parenting may explain the link between perceived forgetfulness and detriments to well-being.

Conclusion: The present work adds to the literature by documenting the unique effects of everyday cognitive experiences (PM demands and forgetting) in relation to parent caregiver well-being. These findings have important implications for possible interventions to improve caregivers' everyday remembering and well-being.