Resilience Among Caregivers of People With Multiple Sclerosis: Exploring the Influence of Personality Traits, Coping, and Caregiver Burden

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Background: Resilience has been recognized as a vital protective factor in coping with stress and adversity. Multiple sclerosis (MS) caregiving is a complex and demanding role, often characterized by challenges. Methods: Caregivers of people with MS were recruited through health care professionals affiliated with the Jacobs MS Center for Treatment and Research in Buffalo, New York. Resilience was assessed by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25) and the Health-Resilience-Stress Questionnaire (HRSQ). We examined the influence of personality traits (NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3), coping strategies (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory), quality of life (Adult Carer Quality of Life Questionnaire), and caregiver burden (Zarit Burden Interview) on resilience. Results: In our study of 98 caregivers (70.4% men; average age, 60 years), 91.8% were partners of people with MS. Out of a maximum score of 100, CD-RISC-25 scores were an average (SD) of 75.5 (14.4) and HRSQ scores were an average of 74.8 (12.9). Quality of life was positively associated with both resilience measures (r=0.60 for CD-RISC-25; r=0.70 for HRSQ), whereas higher resilience was linked to lower caregiver burden (r=–0.40 for CD-RISC-25; r=–0.49 for HRSQ). CD-RISC-25 showed higher resilience negatively correlated with neuroticism (r=–0.65) and positively with extroversion (r=0.57) and conscientiousness (r=0.59). HRSQ also showed strong negative correlation with neuroticism (r=–0.76) and positive correlations with extroversion (r=0.60), conscientiousness (r=0.53), and agreeableness (r=0.24). Conclusions: Caregivers for people with MS showed relatively high resilience levels, positively correlating with quality of life and reduced caregiver burden. Furthermore, resilience correlated inversely with neuroticism and positively with extroversion and conscientiousness. Future research should target personalized interventions, particularly for caregivers with low resilience.

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