Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, 69 Krakowska str, 71-017, Szczecin, Poland.
Institute of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 10 Kutrzeby str, 61-719, Poznan, Poland.
BMC Psychiatry. 2020 Sep 4;20(1):435. doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-02822-7.
Caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with significant mental burden e.g., depression and anxiety, and difficulties with social, familial, and professional functioning. To date, few studies have examined variables which would allow for a comprehensive and detailed study of the relationship between personal resources and caregiver health status, with a majority of studies focusing on factors that contribute to increased caregiver's burden. Moreover, the available evidence fails to address differences in the functioning of formal and informal carers. Paying proper attention to the problems of nursing home staff can help identify important risk factors. Therefore, this study compared mental health problems in informal and formal caregivers and examined the relationship between mental resources and mental health problems in both groups of caregivers.
This cross-sectional study examined 100 formal (n = 50) and informal (n = 50) caregivers of AD patients. Personal resources were measured with the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and the Sense of Coherence Questionnaire (SCQ), while mental health was assessed with the Depression Assessment Questionnaire (DAQ) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Multivariate stepwise regression was performed separately for both investigated groups.
There were no significant differences between informal and formal caregivers in terms of psychological variables, i.e., sense of coherence, social support, self-efficacy, or mental health problems. In contrast, there were different significant predictors of mental health problems in both groups. Comprehensibility (SCQ) was a significant predictor of mental health problems measured by DAQ and self-efficacy (GSES) was a significant predictor of mental health problems measured by GHQ in informal caregivers. For formal caregivers, emotional support (SSQ) and comprehensibility (SCQ) were significant predictors of mental health problems measured by DAQ, while tangible support (SSQ) and meaningfulness (SCQ) were significant predictors of mental health problems measured by GHQ.
Personal resources are significant predictors of mental health outcomes in caregivers of AD patients. Preventive actions should therefore include assessment of factors affecting caregivers' mental health in order to provide them with necessary care and create appropriate support groups.
照顾患有阿尔茨海默病（AD）的人会给患者带来巨大的精神负担，例如抑郁和焦虑，以及在社交、家庭和职业方面的困难。迄今为止，很少有研究探讨个人资源与照顾者健康状况之间关系的综合和详细变量，大多数研究都集中在导致照顾者负担增加的因素上。此外，现有的证据未能解决正式和非正式照顾者之间功能的差异。适当关注养老院工作人员的问题有助于确定重要的风险因素。因此，本研究比较了非正式和正式照顾者的心理健康问题，并研究了这两组照顾者的心理资源与心理健康问题之间的关系。
本横断面研究调查了 100 名 AD 患者的 100 名正式（n=50）和非正式（n=50）照顾者。个人资源用社会支持问卷（SSQ）、一般自我效能感量表（GSES）和心理韧性量表（SCQ）进行测量，心理健康用抑郁评估问卷（DAQ）和一般健康问卷（GHQ）进行评估。对两个调查组分别进行多元逐步回归分析。
在心理变量方面，非正式和正式照顾者之间没有显著差异，即心理韧性、社会支持、自我效能或心理健康问题。相反，两组都有不同的心理健康问题的重要预测因素。可理解性（SCQ）是非正式照顾者用 DAQ 测量的心理健康问题的显著预测因素，而自我效能（GSES）是非正式照顾者用 GHQ 测量的心理健康问题的显著预测因素。对于正式照顾者，情感支持（SSQ）和可理解性（SCQ）是用 DAQ 测量的心理健康问题的显著预测因素，而有形支持（SSQ）和意义感（SCQ）是用 GHQ 测量的心理健康问题的显著预测因素。
个人资源是 AD 患者照顾者心理健康结果的重要预测因素。因此，预防措施应包括评估影响照顾者心理健康的因素，以便为他们提供必要的护理并建立适当的支持小组。
