The Moderating Effects of Personal Resources on Caregiver Burden in Carers of Alzheimer's Patients

Abstract

Caring for persons with Alzheimer's disease can be an extremely difficult experience. To date, there has been a lack of research into the role of intermediary variables in the relationship between caregiver personality and psychosocial functioning. The growing numbers of dementia patients worldwide mean that more people are involved in their care, making research into this area a pressing concern. Both a caregiver's personality and personal resources play a key role in their capacity to cope with stressful situations. In order to determine how personal resources moderate the relationship between personality and burden of care, a total of 100 caregivers of Alzheimer's patients (78 women and 22 men) were asked to complete a set of questionnaires to assess personality, personal resources (sense of coherence, generalized self-efficacy, and perceived social support), as well as their levels of stress, depression, and commitment to care. Structural equation modeling and latent growth analysis suggest that personal resources explain the mechanisms underlying burden of care and moderate its relationship with personality. Our findings indicate that personal resources are a critical predictor of burden of care. Therefore, caregivers must be provided with appropriate support, taking into account their resources and personality profiles.

The associations between personality traits and quality of life, satisfaction with life, and well-being over time in people with dementia and their caregivers: findings from the IDEAL programme

“…The finding that caregiver stress attenuated the relationship between neuroticism and ‘living well’ at baseline, and that this impact remained stable over time, is in line with prior reports of an association between neuroticism and caregiver stress [ 22 , 23 ]. It is possible that caregivers in the present study who were higher in neuroticism were at greater risk of feeling overwhelmed by stressful caregiving experiences which in turn negatively impacted their ‘living well’ scores.…”

“…In dementia caregiving research, predominantly cross-sectional studies have explored the relationship between personality traits and potential indicators of ‘living well’. For example, neuroticism has been associated with higher perceived stress [ 22 , 23 ] and burden [ 24 ], increased self-reported symptoms of anxiety [ 25 ], poorer perceived health-related QoL in the mental health domain [ 5 ], increased self-reported depressive symptoms both cross-sectionally [ 24 ] and longitudinally [ 26 ], poorer perceived physical health [ 27 ], and lower perceptions of positive social support [ 28 ]. In contrast, caregivers who score high in conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness report lower perceived stress, burden, and depressive symptoms [ 23 , 24 ].…”

“…For example, neuroticism has been associated with higher perceived stress [ 22 , 23 ] and burden [ 24 ], increased self-reported symptoms of anxiety [ 25 ], poorer perceived health-related QoL in the mental health domain [ 5 ], increased self-reported depressive symptoms both cross-sectionally [ 24 ] and longitudinally [ 26 ], poorer perceived physical health [ 27 ], and lower perceptions of positive social support [ 28 ]. In contrast, caregivers who score high in conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness report lower perceived stress, burden, and depressive symptoms [ 23 , 24 ]. There is, however, a need to supplement the overwhelming focus in caregiver personality research on specific outcomes, such as stress or burden, with a broader emphasis on ‘living well’.…”

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of Brief Scales for Assessing Two Dimensions of Psychosocial Resource Utilization in Family Caregivers

“…This variation is not accounted for by objective stressors but rather by the subjective appraisal of caring, which, in turn, depends on the evaluation of resources available for coping (Nolan et al, 1996). For example, studies on caregivers show that mastery is linked to fewer depressive symptoms, anxiety, caregiver burden, and psychological distress (Adams et al, 2005;Clair et al, 1995;Pioli, 2010;Soskolne et al, 2007), that sense of control is negatively related to caregiver depression (Miller et al, 1995), that self-efficacy, optimism, and selfesteem show positive correlations with the caregivers' capability to "live well" (Lamont et al, 2019), and that sense of coherence, generalized self-efficacy, and perceived social support are negatively associated with caregiver burden (Soltys et al, 2021;Turró-Garriga et al, 2020). Since one can realize the positive potential of resources only by activating and, consequently, utilizing available resources in prevention and intervention research about family caregivers, it is essential to measure psychosocial resource utilization with psychometrically sound instruments.…”

Barriers and Facilitators of Health and Well-Being in Informal Caregivers of Dementia Patients: A Qualitative Study

“…An estimated 83% of these Alzheimer's patients are cared for in their homes by more than 16 million Americans who provide over 16 billion hours of unpaid care, valued at more than $271 billion [2]. These informal caregivers, primarily family members, are often called "invisible second patients" because they experience higher levels of physiological and psychological burden, social isolation, and financial hardship when compared to other caregivers and non-caregivers [3][4][5].…”