The role of family coping styles in psychological adjustment of spouse caregivers to dementia patients.
Item
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Title
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The role of family coping styles in psychological adjustment of spouse caregivers to dementia patients.
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Identifier
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AAI9405555
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identifier
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9405555
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Creator
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Majerovitz, S. Deborah.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Tracey A. Revenson
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Date
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1993
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Social | Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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This study examines the role of family adaptability in moderating the relationship between caregiving stress and negative psychological outcomes among spouses caring for a partner with dementia at home. It also assesses the relationship between adaptability and the role that spouses adopt in relation to the patient (spouse versus caregiver role). The majority of caregiving studies focus on the individual caregiver's response to stress. By examining the relationships among adaptability, marital roles, and psychological adjustment, this study moves beyond the existing research by considering the context in which caregiving takes place--the ongoing relationship between patient and spouse.;In-person, structured interviews were conducted with fifty-four spouse caregivers. Two types of caregiving stress were considered: hours per day spent caring for the patient and memory and behavior problems. Psychological outcomes included caregiver burden and depression.;Higher levels of memory and behavior problems were related to greater caregiver burden and depression. Adaptability served as a moderator of the relationship between hours of care and depression, but not burden. For caregivers low in adaptability, spending more hours per day caring for their partner with dementia was related to greater depression. For caregivers high in adaptability, hours of care were unrelated to depression. A similar moderating effect was found for memory and behavior problems, although the interaction was only significant at {dollar}p < .10{dollar}.;Adaptability was unrelated to spouses' role choice. Instead, spouses caring for a partner with more severe dementia were more likely to endorse a caregiver role, while caregivers for a less impaired partner were more likely to choose a spouse role. However, cluster analysis identified a small subset of caregiving spouses who were caring for a severely demented partner, were below the sample mean in adaptability, and endorsed a spouse role. For these spouses, depression levels were the highest in the sample.;These findings suggest that it is important to consider family coping styles such as adaptability when assessing the impact of caregiving on family members. Implications of these findings for service providers, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
