Relation among Caregivers’ Burden, Abuse and Behavioural Disorder in People with Dementia

Abstract

Dementia produces a loss of independence to carry out the activities of daily life. The great demand for care that these people need usually falls on the family through informal care. This study aims to analyse the burden showed by the informal caregiver of a person with dementia. In addition, we analyse whether this burden present in informal caregivers could be related to abusive behaviour. We also study the relationship between the stage of the disease, the appearance of behavioural disorders and the level of burden in the caregiver using the Scales of Zarit, CASE and FAST. The data showed that 45.50 per cent of caregivers have light burden or burden. After the research, it was identified that the presence of behavioural disorders in patients with dementia showed a correlation with the increase in both the main caregiver burden and abuse. An increase in the level of burden is followed by an increase in the level of abuse (r = 0.844; p = 0.000). Furthermore, we analysed several conditions that could have a correlation with this burden and abuse. It was found that burden in the caregiver could be linked with the presence of behavioural disorders, like aggression (r = 0.577; p = 0.008) and irritability (r = 0.600; p = 0.005) at the moderate stage of the disease. On the other hand, there is a positive correlation between the probability that people with dementia suffer abuse in the moderate stage of the disease and the presence of aggression (r = 0.732; p = 0.000), lack of inhibition (r = 0.571; p = 0.009) and irritability (r = 0.827; p = 0.000). Taking this data into account, burden and abuse seem to be linked to the presence of behavioural disorders in patients with dementia in the moderate stage.

A Clinical Bridge between Family Caregivers and Older Adults: The Contribution of Patients’ Frailty and Optimism on Caregiver Burden

“…Previous studies involving family caregivers have extensively linked the severity of caregiver burden to the severity of older patients' cognitive impairment or dementia [11][12][13]. Furthermore, the progressively reduced independence and the occurrence of behavioral disturbances, such as irritability and aggression, have been suggested as additional sources of caregiver burden among family caregivers of older subjects with dementia [14][15][16].…”

Caring for a Relative with Dementia: Determinants and Gender Differences of Caregiver Burden in the Rural Setting

“…In this context, the term caregiver burden refers to an experience affecting caregivers' physical and emotional health and their social life throughout the progressive course of the disease [14]. Resistance to care, aggression, and disruptive behaviour of the PwD are challenging for family caregivers, who usually lack training and professional skills to fulfil their responsibilities [15].…”

Psychometric Properties of the Zarit Burden Interview in Informal Caregivers of Persons With Intellectual Disabilities

“…On the other hand, studies show the relationship of caregiver burden with other variables, such as the risk of caregiver abuse ( Özcan et al, 2017 ; Orfila et al, 2018 ; Saravia et al, 2019 ). A positive correlation has also been observed ( r = 0.844; p < 0.001) with abuse of caregivers of people with behavioral disorders affected by dementia to a moderate degree ( Gimeno et al, 2021 ), indicating that the higher the level of burden, the risk of maltreatment increases by the caregiver. Likewise, in people with dementia in Spain, a moderate relationship ( r = 0.486; p < 0.001) was found between the risk of caregiver abuse, measured through the Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE), and caregiver burden, assessed by the ZBI ( Rivera-Navarro et al, 2018 ).…”