Children Disability Milieus and Perceived Social Support as Predictors of Quality of Life of Family Caregivers in Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

The family caregiver has remained a neglected lot, often ignored by the mental health professionals, making them vulnerable to poor quality of life. The study examined children's disability milieus and perceived social support as predictors of quality of life of family caregivers. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The sample size was two hundred and five  (205) caregivers of children with disability selected children’s care centres in South-South, Nigeria. Participants’ ages ranged from 24 to 55 years with a mean age of 37.4 years. These caregivers were selected using the purposive sampling technique. Berlin Social Support Scale and Quality of Life Scale were the instruments used for data collection. Multiple regression statistical method was used in testing the hypotheses formulated for the study. Results revealed that perceived social support had a significant negative prediction on the quality of life of caregivers (β = -.415; t = -6.5; P<.05). Results further indicated that age and duration of care had significant independent prediction on quality of life. Gender, nature of disability and severity of disability did not independently predict quality of life.  However, there was a significant joint prediction of children's disability milieus and perceived social support on quality of life (F= (6,203) =9.67; P<.05). It was recommended that massive media and door-to-door campaigns should be carried out to educate people on the need to support caregivers of children with disabilities.