Social Psychology 112
December 10, 2015
Caregivers face various psychological distresses due to the extensive labor required in providing aid for young, elderly, ill, and disabled. Often news of an abusive caretaker or babysitter arise depicting physical abuse committed towards another who is less competent. According to the statistical data collected in 2011, 1 in 10 of the elderly, solely, were abused by a caretaker (NCEA) and the probabilities continue to increase. The fundamental attribution error can apply to the way the caretakers are perceived, their personal analysis is taken into account rather than their “situational disposition (Kenrick, Neuberg, &Cialdini, 80)”. What we fail to realize is the correlation between …show more content…
How the carer responds or copes with the changes in their life, will depend on their disposition, cultural aspects, such as gender or upbringing; but it may also be influenced greatly “on a person's genes (Strachan, Dansie, Goldberg,& Buchwald 2014).” The biological factors have determined that stressors are influenced by genes that have affected the individual previously, such as depression that runs within a family. If patterns of depression did not exist in the caregiver’s past, non-caregivers also do not show a notable difference when compared (Strachan, Dansie, Goldberg,& Buchwald 2014). When the caretaker is unable to cope with the mood disturbances or frustration, they may initiate with mild forms irrational behavior (Nerenberg, 10). Abuse will occur when the mood disturbances climax into negative embedded frustration that convert into …show more content…
It is essential to understand the correlation between the perpetrator and the situation they are involved in, to comprehend the causation of these acts of aggression towards family relatives. In the situation of a disabled relative, a concerned family member must take on the responsibility of the caregiver. When the family member takes on the role of the caregiver is when he/she will most likely face “disruption of family relationships, constraints in social, leisure and work activities, financial difficulties, and negative impact on their own physical health (Shah, Wadoo, & Latoo, 2010).” This often leads to threaten the caregiver’s social well-being as well as their mental stability due to the extensive social disruption at a long-term scale. Caregivers often report that they feel overwhelmed and in which the stress develops into other illness, depression, anxiety, and mental or physical strain (G.Link,