Purpose: Assess psychometric properties of scales developed to assess experience and perception of physical, psychological, and existential suffering in older individuals. Design and Methods: Scales were administered to 3 populations of older persons and/or their family caregivers: individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their family…

Purpose: Very few studies have examined cognitive decline in caregivers versus noncaregivers, and only 1 study has examined mediators of such decline. We evaluated the relationship between caregiver status and decline on the digit symbol test (DST; a measure of processing speed, attention, cognitive-motor translation, and visual scanning) and…

This study examined similarities and differences between active caregivers (adult children and spouses whose family member had Alzheimer's disease) and not-as-yet caregiving adults (adult children and spouses whose family members are older, but do not as yet suffer from Alzheimer's disease). The objective was to determine what factors predict…

An abundance of literature on caregivers of individuals with dementia has been written since the mid-1980s. However, most of this literature focused on the experience of stress, burden, and depression in caregivers, thus excluding the grief experience that also accompanies the caregiving experience. The purpose of this multimethod study is to…

Contrasted predictors of depression among 101 men and 214 women providing care to spouses suffering from Alzheimer's Disease using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies (CES-D) Depression Index. Results indicated that caregiving wives were more depressed and more burdened than were caregiving husbands. (Author/BHK)

Compared self- and other-rated depression in spousal caregivers for 23 Alzheimer's patients, 23 Parkinsons' Disease patients, and 23 control subjects. Two caregiver groups were similar in length of time they had been giving care and in caregiver distress and both caregiver groups were more depressed than control subjects. (Author/NB)

Purpose: We determine the main outcome effects of a 12-month computer-mediated automated interactive voice response (IVR) intervention designed to assist family caregivers managing persons with disruptive behaviors related to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Design and Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled study of 100 caregivers, 51 in the usual…

Analyzed bereavement adaptation among family caregivers to dementia patients. Bereavement group, as compared with active caregivers, dropped substantially in overload and increased in mastery and guilt. Depression showed curvilinear trend, declining from time of death, rising to preloss levels by end of year. Caregiver stressors, baseline…

Investigated interpersonal vulnerability variables (marital history and quality of relationship prior to onset of Alzheimer's disease), caregiver resources, and appraisals of stressors as predictors of positive and negative outcomes among 72 wife caregivers. All variables were significant predictors of depression and quality of life even after…

Used stress and coping model to study predictors of individual differences in caregiver depression and satisfaction among 72 wife caregivers of husbands with Alzheimer's disease. Specifically examined relationship-focused caregiver coping strategies. Findings support need for expansion of conceptualization of caregiver coping to include…

Describes a psychosocial intervention program that treats the primary caregiver and family members of the Alzheimer's patient over the entire course of the disease. In the first year after intake, the control group became increasingly more depressed, whereas the treatment group remained stable. By the eighth month, treated caregivers were…

This research examined whether a multicomponent program consisting of individual and family counseling intervention for spouse caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients can affect caregiver depression. Self-referred spouse caregivers (N=52) completed an intensive assessment battery on their perception of patient and personal status at entry into…

This study was undertaken to determine the effects of different ways of coping on caregivers' physical health and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Sixty persons living with and caring for a spouse with Alzheimer's disease (n=58) or multi-infarct dementia (n=2) were interviewed and evaluated by a series of instruments. Independent variables…

This study describes depressive symptoms among caregivers following bereavement and connects these trajectories to earlier features of caregiving using life course and stress process theory. Data are from a six-wave longitudinal survey (five years) of spouses and adult children caring for someone with Alzheimer's Disease. The analytic subsample (N…