First Advisor
Jensine Paoletti-Hatcher
Date of Award
Winter 3-20-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Psychology and University Honors
Department
Psychology
Language
English
Subjects
time pressure, caregiving, attentional awareness, stress buffering, mental health, mindfulness
Abstract
Informal caregivers for individuals with Alzheimer’s and related dementias (ADRD) experience increased time demands and poorer well-being, especially when caregiving is combined with paid employment. Subjective feelings of high time pressure, which include feeling rushed and short on time, relate to poorer self-reported measures of mental health more than objective task load. Attentional awareness is one of the fundamental components of mindfulness alongside nonjudgmental acceptance; it has been linked with more optimal mental health and feelings of having enough time. This cross-sectional study examined whether higher levels of perceived time pressure would relate to poorer self-reported mental health functioning and if attentional awareness (a component of mindfulness) would moderate that relationship. Employed informal caregivers (N = 43) completed the Time Pressure Scale, the RAND Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Results showed that higher time pressure was associated with poorer mental health in models without attentional awareness, but it was unrelated to mental health in models that included attentional awareness. Further exploration revealed that low attentional awareness was robustly associated with poorer mental health. However, the relationship between time pressure and mental health was not found to be moderated by attentional awareness. Our results suggest that caregivers with low attentional awareness are at risk for having poorer mental health functioning. Future research on this population should employ multidimensional mindfulness measures and further investigate the effects of attentional awareness on populations facing chronic high stress.
Recommended Citation
Bishop, Kate, "Pressed for Time: The Role of Time Pressure and Attentional Awareness on the Mental Health of Employed Informal Dementia Caregivers" (2026). University Honors Theses. Paper 1770.