Li Lydia W
School of Social Work, University of Michigan, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2005 Jul;60(4):P190-8. doi: 10.1093/geronb/60.4.p190.
This study examined the trajectory of depressive symptoms for wife and daughter caregivers during the transition from caregiving to bereavement, and it investigated whether the trajectory varies by caregivers' caregiving stress, social support, and background characteristics. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze four-wave longitudinal data collected from 157 wife and daughter caregivers who lost elderly relatives to death. Results show that, on average, caregivers experience increasing depressive symptoms as their care recipients approach death, and they experience decreasing symptoms after. Care recipients' problematic behavior and caregivers' kinship, income, and feelings of overload moderate the change in depressive symptoms during the transition. Services to support caregivers should target specific groups of caregivers, based on caregiving experience and background characteristics, at times when they are most in need.
本研究考察了妻子和女儿照顾者从提供照顾到失去亲人期间抑郁症状的变化轨迹，并调查了该轨迹是否因照顾者的照顾压力、社会支持和背景特征而有所不同。采用分层线性模型分析了从157名因亲人去世而失去老人的妻子和女儿照顾者那里收集的四波纵向数据。结果显示，平均而言，照顾者在其照顾对象临近死亡时抑郁症状会增加，之后症状会减轻。照顾对象的问题行为以及照顾者的亲属关系、收入和负担过重感会缓和过渡期间抑郁症状的变化。基于照顾经验和背景特征，在照顾者最需要的时候，支持照顾者的服务应针对特定的照顾者群体。
