Social Connectedness and Perceived Stress Among Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented stressors for caregivers due to social distancing requirements that simultaneously increased their responsibilities and reduced opportunities for social connection and support. This concurrent embedded mixed-methods study examined differences between caregivers and non-caregivers regarding the effects of social connectedness on perceived stress and explored challenges caregivers experienced related to social connectedness and perceived stress.

Method: A national online survey containing forced-choice and free-response questions was administered between April and June 2020. The survey was distributed via social media advertisements and a crowdsourcing platform to eligible adult residents in the United States (US) fluent in either English or Spanish. Multivariable regression and thematic analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data. Mixed-methods integration occurred during the data analysis, interpretation, and reporting phases.

Results: The study sample comprised 1540 US adults (1275 non-caregivers, 265 caregivers; 65% women; 36% racial/ethnic minorities). Relative to non-caregivers, caregivers had lower levels of social connectedness and higher levels of perceived stress. Social connectedness was also inversely related to perceived stress for non-caregivers (p < 0.001) and slightly but not significantly positively related to perceived stress for caregivers. Qualitative findings showed caregivers experienced a variety of stressors including fear of COVID-19 exposure to their care recipients, disruption to usual care routines, and difficulty accessing healthcare services that may have contributed to decrements in social connectedness and higher levels of perceived stress.

Conclusion: Findings suggest social connectedness may be beneficial for reducing perceived stress, but its impact can vary depending on individual circumstances. Overall, findings support the idea that caregivers are a particularly vulnerable sub-group of the population and may benefit from more targeted support and interventions.