Table 1.
Characteristics of the overall sample
| Total (N = 285) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Variable | Frequency | % |
| Age (mean ± SD: 47.23 ± 10.87 years) | ||
| 21–39 | 75 | 26.3 |
| 40–65 | 210 | 73.7 |
| Gender | ||
| Male | 101 | 35.4 |
| Female | 184 | 64.6 |
| Marital status | ||
| Single/other (separated/divorced/widowed) | 112 | 39.3 |
| Married | 173 | 60.7 |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Chinese | 160 | 56.1 |
| Malay | 38 | 13.4 |
| Indian | 87 | 30.5 |
| Education | ||
| Primary or below | 9 | 3.2 |
| Secondary | 76 | 26.8 |
| Pre‐tertiary | 104 | 36.6 |
| Tertiary and above | 95 | 33.4 |
| Employment | ||
| Unemployed | 69 | 24.2 |
| Employed | 216 | 75.8 |
| Caregiver's relationship to older adult | ||
| Child | 224 | 78.6 |
| Spouse | 18 | 6.3 |
| Other | 43 | 15.1 |
| Total time spent on caregiving (mean ± SD: 3.60 ± 3.93 h) | ||
| Psychological distress caseness | ||
| Psychologically distressed | 150 | 52.6 |
| Not distressed | 135 | 47.4 |
| Chronic physical condition diagnosis | ||
| At least one diagnosis | 167 | 58.6 |
| No diagnosis | 118 | 41.4 |
| Chronic physical condition types† | ||
| Arthritis | 19 | 6.7 |
| Asthma | 19 | 6.7 |
| Back injuries | 33 | 11.6 |
| Diabetes | 25 | 8.8 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 75 | 26.3 |
| Hypertension | 63 | 22.1 |
| Migraine | 15 | 5.3 |
| Thyroid disease | 10 | 3.5 |
| Total Scores | Mean | SD |
| Psychological distress (GHQ‐12) | 11.03 | 5.29 |
| Physical quality of life (PCS) | 52.36 | 7.11 |
| Mental quality of life (MCS) | 49.51 | 9.50 |
†
Exact percentages based on the total sample were used for each chronic physical condition type.
GHQ‐12, General Health Questionnaire; MCS, SF‐36 mental component summary; PCS, SF‐36 physical component summary; SF‐36, 36‐item Short Form Health Survey.