Social media and partnership jointly alleviate caregivers’ psychological distress: exploring the effects of online and offline connectedness

Abstract Background The prevalence of caregiving in the United States has increased from 16.6% to 19.2% during the period between 2015 and 2020. Caregivers play a critical public health role post-pandemic and as the population ages. However, caregiving can be detrimental to the health of caregivers. Many studies have shown that communication and connectedness are effective forms of health intervention for caregivers, but how this can be achieved requires further investigation. Objective This study aimed to investigate the indirect effect of caregiving on problems of alcohol drinking through psychological distress. Moreover, this study aimed to provide initial evidence of the distinct effects of online and offline communication and connectedness on caregivers' well-being. Methods The predictions were evaluated by examining responses to the Health Information National Trends Survey 2020 (n = 3,865). A mediation analysis was conducted to test the mediating effect of psychological distress on the association between caregiving and alcohol drinking. A second-level moderation analysis was performed. The online communication and connectedness, social media use for health, and the offline type, marital or romantic partnership, were tested as moderators to lessen the psychological distress of caregiving. Results A competitive mediation was identified. We found a positive indirect effect from caregiving to alcohol drinking mediated by psychological distress (b p = .0017, p