Does self-care improve coping or does coping improve self-care? A structural equation modeling study

Support interventions often address both self-care and coping. Different approaches are used to promote self-care and coping so clarifying the intervention effect can guide clinicians and researchers to provide interventions that achieve benefit. To compare two models to determine whether self-care improves coping or coping improves self-care. We used cross-sectional data from 248 caregivers obtained at enrollment into a randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of a support intervention. Factor scores for scales measuring caregiver demand, self-care, coping, stress appraisal, and mental health were derived from exploratory factor analysis. Structural equation models were analyzed using the factor scores as estimates of each construct. To control possible spurious effects caregiver age, gender, relationship with the patient, and income adequacy were included. Both models were compatible with the data, but the self-care model was stronger than the coping model. That model had a non-significant chi square and an excellent fit to the data, χ2(4, N = 248) = 2.64, p = .62. The percentage of variance explained by the self-care model was 54 % for mental health, 42 % for stress appraisal, 10 % for avoidance coping, and 6 % for active coping. In the coping model the explained variance of stress appraisal dropped to 33 %, avoidance coping dropped to 0 %, and active coping dropped to 3 %. The self-care model was strongest, illustrating that self-care decreases stress, promotes coping, and improves mental health. These results suggest that promoting self-care may be more effective in improving mental health than interventions aimed at improving coping. •The clinical skills needed to promote self-care and coping are different.•When we compared two models, the self-care model was stronger than the coping model.•The stronger model illustrates that self-care can decrease stress, promote coping, and improve mental health.•These results suggest that promoting self-care may be more effective in support interventions than trying to change coping.