Latent growth models of the longitudinal effects of dementia caregiving: A comparison of African American and White family caregivers.

Abstract

Self-report measures of depression, physical health symptoms, and life satisfaction were collected over a 2-year period from 197 family caregivers of dementia patients and 218 noncaregivers (controls). Latent growth models were used to compare changes across time for African American and White caregivers, with gender, age, and socioeconomic status serving as covariates. Results indicated that White caregivers sustained higher levels of elevated depression and decreasing life satisfaction over time compared with African American caregivers. Both groups of caregivers reported increases in physical symptoms over time. These results indicate worsening difficulties over time for many White caregivers. African American caregivers show more resilience on measures of depression and life satisfaction but are still vulnerable to increases in physical symptoms over time. Implications for additional research and clinical intervention are discussed.

Factors associated with the resilience of family caregivers of persons with dementia: a systematic review

“…However, resilience was both a positive association and a moderating factor, attenuating the symptoms of depression among black caregivers. 19 Similar results were reported by Clay et al, 20 who spent five years monitoring a sample of 166 American caregivers (mean age of 60 years) who cared for individuals that had been classified with dementia. The aim of the study was to analyze their satisfaction with social support and depression symptoms, thereby confirming the resilience found among white and black caregivers.…”

“…Roth et al 19 spent two years monitoring 197 family caregivers of people with dementia and 218 non-caregivers, assessing depression, physical health and satisfaction. The authors sought to identify differences between white and black caregivers.…”

Psychometric Analysis of the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist: Factor Structure of Occurrence and Reaction Ratings.

“…Furthermore, Haley and colleagues showed that these appraisal differences were partly responsible for explaining observed racial differences on measures of depression and life satisfaction. Taken together, the present findings add to a larger body of evidence that suggests African American family caregivers are less susceptible to the emotional distress associated with dementia caregiving than are White family caregivers (Connell & Gibson, 1997;Roth et al, 2001). Additional research is needed to more fully describe and explain the relative advantages that African American family caregivers consistently report in comparison with White caregivers on measures of emotional distress and caregiving burden.…”

“…Caregivers as a group have been found to report deteriorating physical health over time compared with noncaregivers (Roth et al, 2001), and caregivers who report being burdened by their responsibilities have been shown to have increased mortality rates (Schulz & Beach, 1999). Consequently, it is important to routinely assess the amount of ongoing memory and behavior problems that persons with dementia are displaying and the degree to which these problems are distressing to the family members who care for them.…”

“…(Radloff & Teri, 1986) was used as a measure of depressive symptoms of the caregivers. This instrument has been widely used in previous studies of family caregivers (e.g., Haley et al, 1996;Roth, Haley, Owen, Clay, & Goode, 2001;Schulz & Williamson, 1991). For each of the scale's 20 items, caregivers rated the frequency of this symptom on a 0 (rarely) to 3 (most of the time) 4-point scale.…”