Grief and Personal Growth Experience of Spouses and Adult-Child Caregivers of Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the grief and personal growth experience of spouses and adult children of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and the factors contributing to these experiences. Design and Methods: We used a modification of the MarwitMeuser-Sanders Caregiver Grief model to examine the factors that contribute to grief and personal growth. We used chi-square tests, t tests, multivariate analyses of variance, correlations, and hierarchical regression analyses in a cross-sectional analysis of 201 spouses and adult children caregivers at various stages of the disease trajectory. Results: Grief increased as the severity of the disease increased. When the spouse with Alzheimer's disease lived out of the home, spouse caregivers experienced more sadness and longing, worry and isolation, and personal sacrifice burden than did adult children caregivers. Different factors influence grief and personal growth for caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. The majority of caregivers experienced personal growth, with more growth experienced by adult children. Implications: Health care providers should consider using the Marwit and Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory to screen for high levels of grief in caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Supportive services targeted for those with high levels of grief are suggested.

The positive aspects of caregiving in dementia: A critical review of the qualitative literature

“…In contrast, spousal carers, particularly wives, tended to place a higher value on gains based in the dynamic of their relationship and on spiritual growth. These differences support previous research (Ott, Sanders & Kelber, 2007) and may reflect the different times of life that these carers embark on their caregiving journey. Adult child carers tend to be younger and therefore may have had less opportunity for personal development than older spousal carers.…”

Quality of Life of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: Differential Perceptions between Spouse and Adult Child Caregivers

“…Furthermore, they would have to combine the care tasks with other obligations (such as family and work) and this could more easily lead to a clash of responsibilities and greater burden. As stated by other authors [40][41][42] the feelings of guilt reported by adult child caregivers, which also have negative repercussions for patients, could be associated with the difficulties that caregivers face in providing the best possible care for their parents or the emotional distance they feel with respect to them.…”

Differential features of burden between spouse and adult-child caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease: An exploratory comparative design

“…Social isolation has been reported to be more common among spouses than adult children, with the latter being more involved in various activities and settings (Rinaldi et al, 2005;Ott et al, 2007;Sanders et al, 2008).…”

“…In contrast, spouse caregivers have greater experience of caring (Sörensen et al, 2002) and take more advantage of peer support (Lavoie et al, 2005), being more assiduous in their attendance at support groups (Ott et al, 2007).…”

“…Finally, some studies coincide in reporting worse physical health among spouse caregivers, this being related to their own advanced age (Ott et al, 2007;Sanders et al, 2008).…”