Hypotheses

Part B: Examination of relationships between MIL, employment, volunteering, informal caregiving, and provision of social support

Part C: Predictors of MIL among older adult informal caregivers

6.2 Research Questions Part A:

(1) Is MIL associated with physical and psychological health among older adults in Aotearoa New Zealand?

Part B:

(2) Is participation in employment, volunteering, and informal caregiving associated with MIL among older adults and, if so, to what extent?

(3) Does providing social support and, specifically, opportunity for nurturance mediate the relationship between MIL and participation in employment, volunteering, and informal care?

Part C:

(4) Is MIL associated with physical and psychological health among older adult informal caregivers in Aotearoa New Zealand?

(5) Are there aspects of caregiving which determine why some caregivers experience more MIL than others?

6.3 Hypotheses Part A

(1) In relation to the first research question, as outlined in Section 2.3, research has consistently found positive associations between possessing a sense of MIL and

physical and psychological health outcomes. These findings have been

replicated in older adult populations and, to an extent, in a small sample of older adults in Aotearoa New Zealand. This leads to Hypothesis One and Two:

H1: MIL will be positively associated with psychological health.

H2: MIL will be positively associated with physical health.

Part B

(2) In relation to the second research question, as argued in Section 3.1, a consideration of theoretical models and empirical research both support the proposition that employment has the potential to serve a meaning making function. It can provide order and structure; an avenue for pursing valued goals; and a social role to provide both a system of values and norms to guide

behaviour and the mechanisms to affirm and justify this behaviour. However, it is recognised that employment is not always highly valued or desired by the individual and, when this is the case, employment may undermine one’s sense of MIL by, for example, inhibiting the pursuit of valued goals in other life

domains. This leads to Hypothesis Three:

H3: Employment will be associated with higher levels of MIL but this relationship will be moderated by satisfaction with employment status.

As argued in Section 3.2, similar to employment, volunteering can provide order and structure; an avenue for pursing valued goals; and a social role to provide both a system of values and norms to guide behaviour and the mechanisms to affirm and justify this behaviour. Volunteering may also provide a sense of

order, purpose, and an avenue for goal attainment. Furthermore, a consideration of the earlier discussion on sources of MIL would suggest that volunteering is likely to enhance MIL specifically among older adults. Volunteering is an allocentric activity and generally involves self-transcendence and generativity which, as noted, have been found to be important sources of meaning for older adults. This leads to the Hypothesis Four:

H4: Participation in volunteer activities will be associated with higher levels of MIL and this relationship will be stronger than the relationship between employment and MIL.

Finally, as discussed in Section 3.3, informal caregiving is a complex experience consisting of multiple stresses and gains. As with employment and volunteering, informal care provides a social role which may afford order and structure, a basis for values, and an avenue for living out values and pursing goals and thus enhancing a sense of purpose and in turn a sense of MIL. However, informal caregiving is a role that, unlike volunteering or employment, is less likely to have been specifically chosen but may be undertaken due to a sense of obligation or because there is no one else to fill the role (Abramson, 2015; Egdell, 2013; Walker et al., 1990). Furthermore, informal caregiving also often involves conflict with, and compromise of, other roles. As there is no clear evidence from the literature or theory to support an a priori hypothesis regarding the relationship between informal caregiving and MIL, this relationship will be examined through an exploratory research question:

Exploratory Research Question: Do older adult informal caregivers experience more MIL than non-caregiver older adults?

(3) In relation to the third research question, as argued in Section 4.4, each of the six social provisions has the potential to enhance MIL among older adults.

However, Weiss (1974) proposes that opportunity for nurturance in particular will be strongly associated with MIL. Furthermore, as discussed in Section 4.5, the employment, volunteering, and informal caregiving roles all potentially provide opportunities for the individual to give support to others and in turn enhance a sense of MIL. Thus, Hypotheses Five and Six:

H5: Older adults who experience greater opportunity for nurturance will experience higher MIL.

H6: Opportunity for nurturance will mediate the relationships between MIL and participation in employment, volunteering, and informal caregiving.

Part C:

(4) In relation to the fourth research question, as outlined in Section 2.3 and in the rationale for Hypotheses One and Two, previous research has consistently found positive associations between physical and psychological health and MIL. This leads to Hypotheses Seven and Eight:

H7: MIL will be positively associated with psychological health among older adult informal caregivers.

H8: MIL will be positively associated with physical health among older adult informal caregivers.

(5) In relation to the fifth research question, as discussed in Section 3.3, previous research has found subjective aspects to be significant predictors of meaning in caregiving (Quinn, Clare, & Woods, 2012). Perceived social support in

particular consistently predicts better outcomes for caregivers (Chappell & Funk, 2011) and MIL among older adults (Krause, 2007). Furthermore, consistent with Broaden and Build theory (Fredrickson, 2004), the ability to positively appraise the caregiving situation has been associated with higher well- being while negative affect has been associated with lower presence of meaning (Isik & Uzbe, 2015). In contrast, objective aspects of caregiving have been found to be poor predictors of finding meaning in caregiving (Noonan & Tennstedt, 1997). However, difficult experiences may stimulate a search for meaning (King & Hicks, 2009) and, over time, individuals may work to make sense of difficult experiences and so enhance MIL (Krause, 2007). Thus, hypotheses Nine and Ten:

H9: Subjective aspects of caregiving will be significantly associated with MIL and, specifically, negative appraisals will be negatively associated with MIL while positive appraisals and social support will be positively

H10: Objective aspects of caregiving will not be significantly associated with MIL with the exception of care duration which will be positively associated with MIL.