School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
J Appl Gerontol. 2023 Aug;42(8):1760-1769. doi: 10.1177/07334648231156858. Epub 2023 Feb 9.
Anxiety remains understudied in family carers of people with dementia. Understanding factors that moderate the relationship between stressors and anxiety symptoms in this population is critical to inform interventions. This study examined whether generic experiential avoidance (AAQ-II) and experiential avoidance specific to caregiving-related thoughts and feelings (EACQ) moderate the relationship between subjective burden (ZBI-12) and anxiety symptoms (GAD-7) in carers of people with dementia. The first model ( = .66, = .03) exploring the moderating effect of AAQ-II demonstrated a significant interaction term between AAQ-II and subjective burden. The second model ( = .53, = .03), exploring the moderating effect of EACQ, demonstrated a significant interaction term between EACQ and subjective burden. These results provide evidence that carers with higher levels of experiential avoidance may be particularly prone to the negative effect of subjective burden on anxiety symptoms. Clinical implications for assessment of experiential avoidance and its treatment in carers of people with dementia are discussed.
在痴呆症患者的家庭照顾者中，焦虑仍然研究不足。了解该人群中压力源与焦虑症状之间关系的调节因素对于干预措施至关重要。本研究考察了通用体验回避（AAQ-II）和针对与照顾相关的想法和感受的体验回避（EACQ）是否调节了痴呆症患者照顾者的主观负担（ZBI-12）和焦虑症状（GAD-7）之间的关系。第一个模型（ =.66， =.03）探讨了 AAQ-II 的调节作用，结果显示 AAQ-II 和主观负担之间存在显著的交互项。第二个模型（ =.53， =.03），探讨了 EACQ 的调节作用，结果显示 EACQ 和主观负担之间存在显著的交互项。这些结果表明，体验回避程度较高的照顾者可能特别容易受到主观负担对焦虑症状的负面影响。讨论了在痴呆症患者的照顾者中评估体验回避及其治疗的临床意义。
