Daily health and well-being among caregivers with multiple adverse childhood experiences: The role of family support and strain

Background and objective: Caregiving for aging parents is a prevalent experience for middle- and older adults in the US. Utilizing a life course perspective to family caregiving, this study examined the associations between providing care to parents and four daily well-being outcomes while also testing the moderating roles of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and current family support or strain. Participants and setting: Using data from the National Study of Daily Experiences 3, a daily diary project of the Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS), we analyzed a sample of 434 caregivers and their 1123 daily diary records. A multilevel modeling approach was used to examine intra-individual patterns. Results: For caregivers who reported three or more ACEs, daily negative affect was higher on days they provided care compared to days they did not. For these caregivers, positive family support buffered the associations between daily caregiving to parents and higher negative affect, lower positive affect, and poorer sleep quality. Family strain exacerbated the effects of daily caregiving to parents on higher negative affect, lower positive affect, more physical symptoms, and poorer sleep quality. Conclusions: ACEs may play a crucial role in contextualizing caregivers’ daily health outcomes. The findings of the current study enhance our understanding of adult-child caregivers who experienced multiple ACEs and highlight their need for trauma-informed support.