Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Program for Positive Aging, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Gerontologist. 2019 Sep 17;59(5):e424-e432. doi: 10.1093/geront/gny063.
Purpose in life is associated with better health and has been found to minimize caregiving stress. Greater purpose may also promote caregiving gains (i.e., rewards or uplifts from providing care), yet the implications of purpose for positive aspects of the care role are largely unknown. The present study determined how perceptions of purpose in life among persons with dementia (PWDs) and their family caregivers are linked to caregiving gains.
This cross-sectional study examined 153 co-resident family caregivers drawn from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study and National Study of Caregiving. Linear regressions were estimated to evaluate associations between caregivers' and PWDs' reports of their own purpose in life and caregivers' perceived caregiving gains, along with whether these associations vary by caregiver gender. Models controlled for caregivers' sociodemographic characteristics, relationship to the PWD, care tasks, role overload, negative caregiving relationship quality, and both care partners' chronic health conditions.
Caregivers' higher purpose in life was significantly linked to greater caregiving gains. Beyond this association, PWDs' higher purpose in life was significantly associated with greater caregiving gains for women but not for men.
Purpose in life is a psychological resource that contributes to positive caregiving outcomes. Interventions to improve caregiver well-being could benefit from strategies that strengthen and maintain feelings of purpose among caregivers and PWDs.
生活目的与健康状况的改善有关，并且可以减轻照顾者的压力。更大的目标也可能促进照顾者的收益（即提供照顾的回报或提升），但目标对照顾角色的积极方面的影响在很大程度上是未知的。本研究旨在确定痴呆症患者（PWD）及其家庭照顾者对生活目的的看法与照顾收益之间的关系。
本横断面研究调查了来自 2011 年国家健康与老龄化趋势研究和国家照顾研究的 153 名共同居住的家庭照顾者。线性回归用于评估照顾者和 PWD 对自己生活目的的报告与照顾者感知的照顾收益之间的关联，以及这些关联是否因照顾者的性别而异。模型控制了照顾者的社会人口特征、与 PWD 的关系、照顾任务、角色超载、负面照顾关系质量以及双方的慢性健康状况。
照顾者的生活目的越高，照顾收益越大。除了这种关联之外，PWD 的生活目的越高，对女性的照顾收益越大，但对男性的照顾收益则没有影响。
生活目的是一种心理资源，有助于积极的照顾结果。改善照顾者福祉的干预措施可能受益于那些加强和维持照顾者和 PWD 生活目的感的策略。
