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…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the grief and personal growth experience of spouses and adult children of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and the factors contributing to these experiences. Design and Methods: We used a modification of the Marwit-Meuser-Sanders Caregiver Grief model to examine the…

Examined personality factors and coping strategies among 50 spouse caregivers of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia. Results showed that personality traits explained 60% of variance in emotion-focused coping, 30% of variance in problem-focused coping, and 15% of variance associated with social support coping.…

Purpose: We adopted a feminist, structural approach to husbands' experiences of caring for wives with Alzheimer's disease. This framework posited that men and women draw upon gender repertoires--situational ideals of behavior based upon their respective structural locations--that create gendered experiences of stress and coping strategies. Design…

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…

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…

Compared 30 caregiver-Alzheimer's afflicted spouse dyads with 17 healthy married couples. Found caregivers differed significantly from well-group spouses on companionship and total marital quality. Only 27 percent of Alzheimer's couples versus 82 percent of well couples were sexually active. Caregivers evidenced adaptation and control; afflicted…