Advisor(s)
Mieke Thomeer
Committee Member(s)
Mieke Thomeer
Olivio Clay
Verna Keith
School
College of Arts and Sciences
Document Type
Thesis
Department (new version)
Medical Sociology
Date of Award
1-6-2025
Abstract
This study examines how three types of social support—having someone to talk to, someone to help with activities, and someone to provide care—affect the stress levels of informal Black women caregivers compared to Black men, White men, and White women caregivers in the United States. It explores the intersection of race and gender, with a specific focus on how social support influences the emotional, financial, and physical stress levels of informal Black women caregivers. This research aimed to answer two questions. Does social support decrease stress levels among informal caregivers? Does the association between social support and stress levels differ from Black women caregivers compared to Black men, White men, and White women informal caregivers? First, I hypothesized that an increase in social support would decrease stress levels among all caregivers. Second, I hypothesized that social support would have a less pronounced effect in reducing stress levels among Black women informal caregivers compared to other groups. Additionally, I created an alternative hypothesis, that social support will have a similar effect in reducing stress levels among all groups. To test these hypotheses, I use linear regression on variables from the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) III (2017). This nationally representative data set of caregivers from the United States that consisted of interviews of caregivers with measures of stress, support, as well as other relevant variables. Only two out of the three social support variables were statistically significant which provides partial support for hypothesis 1. I found that having someone to talk to is associated with lower overall stress levels by 0.49 units (p<.05) and having someone to help with care is associated with lower overall stress levels by 0.38 units (p<.05). However, having access to someone to help with acts of service is not statistically associated with overall stress level at the p<.05 level. The second hypothesis is not supported that social support has a less pronounced effect on Black women than Black Men, White Men, and White women. These findings demonstrate a need to contribute a need to researcher informal caregiving using an intersectionality framework.
ProQuest ID
Recommended Citation
Williams, Antoinette Shantay, "The Power Of Connection: Unraveling The Significance Of Social Support In The Stress Levels Of Informal Black Women Caregivers" (2025). All ETDs from UAB. 7254.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/7254
