Modeling Caregiver Adaptation Over Time: The Longitudinal Impact of Behavior Problems

Although cross-sectional research has established the link between care demands and various indicators of caregiver adaptation, few studies have examined the impact of care recipients' problematic behavior over time. The present analysis determines the importance of behavior problems when predi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology and aging 2000-09, Vol.15 (3), p.437-450
Main Authors: Gaugler, Joseph E, Davey, Adam, Pearlin, Leonard I, Zarit, Steven H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of Daily Living
Adaptation
Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Aged
Alzheimer Disease
Behavior disorders
Behavior Problems
Behavioural problems
Biological and medical sciences
Caregiver Burden
Caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Carers
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dementia
Demography
Depression
Depression (Emotion)
Elder care
Elderly people
Family environment. Family history
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Human
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Models, Theoretical
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Stress
Time Factors
Workload
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Summary:Although cross-sectional research has established the link between care demands and various indicators of caregiver adaptation, few studies have examined the impact of care recipients' problematic behavior over time. The present analysis determines the importance of behavior problems when predicting rates of change in subjective stressors (role overload and role captivity) and depression. Using 4-wave longitudinal data ( N = 137) on dementia caregivers, the authors fit individual growth curve models for care demands (i.e., behavior problems, activities of daily living dependencies, and cognitive impairment), subjective stressors, and depression. Subsequent structural equation models found that increases in behavior problems were most likely to predict increases in role overload. The findings emphasize the deleterious long-term impact of behavior problems on individuals' emotional adaptation to caregiving.
ISSN:0882-7974
1939-1498
DOI:10.1037/0882-7974.15.3.437