NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Department of Adult Nursing, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA.
Aging Ment Health. 2020 Feb;24(2):233-241. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1531375. Epub 2018 Dec 27.
The stress-related psychological symptoms experienced by informal family caregivers do not always improve or resolve after the death of the care recipient. The purpose of this study was to explore the independent associations of sociodemographic variables, personality and coping, environmental variables, and caregiver guilt with the sleep quality and psychological distress of former family caregivers of individuals with dementia following care recipient's death. A cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted with a sample of 171 former family caregivers of people with dementia. Participants completed an online survey comprised of six instruments and demographic items. Caregiver personal variables (e.g. personality and coping), environmental variables, guilt, psychological distress (depressive and anxiety symptoms), and sleep quality were evaluated using psychometrically validated measures. In bivariate analysis, post-caregiving guilt was significantly associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms ( < 0.01). After controlling for covariates, dysfunctional coping and neuroticism explained 32% of the variance in depressive symptoms ( = .52, = .32, (5, 165) = 36.24, < .001) and 24% of the variance in anxiety symptoms ( = .41, = .24, (5, 165) = 22.65, < .001), while dysfunctional coping, pre-loss depression, and extraversion accounted for 16% of the variance in sleep quality ( = .30, = .16, (6, 164) = 11.44, < .001). This study demonstrates the critical role of personal variables, including personality traits, coping strategies, and pre-loss depression, in explaining psychological distress and sleep quality in this sample of former dementia caregivers.
非家庭成员照料者在照顾对象去世后,其与压力相关的心理症状并不总是会改善或消除。本研究旨在探讨人口统计学变量、人格和应对方式、环境变量以及照顾者内疚与痴呆照顾者照顾对象去世后其睡眠质量和心理困扰的独立相关性。采用横断面相关性研究方法,对 171 名痴呆症照顾者进行了研究。参与者完成了一份在线调查问卷,其中包含 6 项工具和人口统计学项目。使用经过心理测量验证的测量工具评估了照顾者个人变量(如人格和应对方式)、环境变量、内疚、心理困扰(抑郁和焦虑症状)和睡眠质量。在双变量分析中,照顾后内疚与抑郁和焦虑症状显著相关( < 0.01)。在控制协变量后,功能失调应对和神经质解释了抑郁症状 32%的方差( = .52, = .32,(5, 165) = 36.24, < .001)和焦虑症状 24%的方差( = .41, = .24,(5, 165) = 22.65, < .001),而功能失调应对、失前抑郁和外向性则解释了睡眠质量 16%的方差( = .30, = .16,(6, 164) = 11.44, < .001)。本研究表明,个人变量,包括人格特质、应对策略和失前抑郁,在解释该痴呆症照顾者样本的心理困扰和睡眠质量方面起着关键作用。