• 한국노년학
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.1249-1264
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• 2008

Guilt feelings are dysfunctional feelings that the primary caregiver of the frail elder are apt to have and those feelings increase a burden of caring, while there is lack of empirical study on the effect of guilt feelings on caring behaviors. In light of this, this study lays its purpose on examining the effect of the primary caregivers' guilt feelings on their burden of caring and request behaviors for help with caring, paying attention to their guilt feelings in our society where Confucian values toward supporting the elderly have remained. The questionnaire survey was conducted for 220 primary caregivers caring frail elders over 60 years of age by visiting. As a tool for measuring guilt feelings, a self-designed measure for caregivers was used (${\alpha}=.949$), and factors of guilt feelings were classified into four namely, the factors of lack of self-control, lack of resources, burnout, and the normative factor As a result, the following findings were derived. First, it was revealed that the guilt feelings of caregivers as family members have a positive correlation with a feeling of burden of caring and the feeling of burden have even effects on the four factors of guilt feelings. Second, when primary caregivers request help with caring, they feel guilty toward cohabiting family members and neighbors, and also they show no guilt feelings when using day-care services for the elderly. Especially, guilt feeling factors affecting primary caregivers were found to be the normative factor to cohabiting family members, the factor of lack of resources to neighbors, and the factor of burnout to using day-care services for the elderly. This result tells that the dysfunctional feelings of primary caregivers namely guilt feelings arising when asking help with caring not only increase their burden of caring but also can cause difficulties in sharing the role of the caregiver. Accordingly for the mental health of caregivers, we should develop programs with which we could understand and cope with their guilt feelings.