The role of resilient coping in dementia carers' wellbeing

Abstract

Background: Carers of people with dementia are at risk of psychological distress. However some carers experience positives outcomes and resilient coping may account for this variance in carers' wellbeing. Aim: To assess the role of resilient coping in dementia carers' wellbeing. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of carers measured resilient coping, depression, anxiety, stress and burden. First, group comparisons between carers with high, medium and low resilient coping were made. Next, mediation analyses were conducted to identify if resilient coping was a mediator in the relationships between carer wellbeing and distress. Results: Carers (n=110) were aged 30-80+ years; 66% female; 72% provided 40+ hours care per week; 23% were highly resilient. High resilient carers report significantly less distress than low resilient carers. Resilient coping was a partial mediator in the relationships between wellbeing and depression, anxiety, stress and burden. Conclusions: Interventions promoting or maintaining resilient coping may reduce morbidity in family carers.

Towards conceptual convergence: A systematic review of psychological resilience in family caregivers of persons living with chronic neurological conditions

“…Most (n = 46, 92%) studies were published within the last 10 years of conducting our search (i.e., during or after the year 2010). The majority of studies originated from Europe (n = 20, 40%) 38,[47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65] and North America (n = 20, 40%), 19,25,46,[66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82] followed by Asia (n = 4, 8%), [83][84][85][86] South America (n = 4, 8%) [87][88][89][90] and Australia (n = 2, 4%). 91,…”

“…Many (n = 13, 26%) studies referred to the significance of internal and external resources, protective factors, and relational and situational contexts in facilitating resilience development. 38,48,[52][53][54][55]59,65,67,74,78,82,92 For instance, self-compassion was an internal resource conceptually linked to resilience. 54 Beyond these commonalities, researchers differed in terms of whether they defined resilience as a multidimensional process or a personality trait.…”

Undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research: A pilot study exploring care of a family member with dementia

“…Alzheimer's disease has a devastating impact on caregivers resulting in emotional, physical, and financial repercussions [6,9] that can add to psychological distress. [10] In fact, twice as many caregivers of those with dementia indicate these difficulties. [6] Caregivers are responsible for holistic support to family members with dementia, which limits their social activities, increases social isolation, decreases leisure activities, and adds to family distress.…”

“…Providers should help caregivers develop skills such as problem solving, managing emotions, and replacing losses. [10] Resilience does not protect caregivers from distress, but it can help them recover from setbacks. [26] Future research should assess caregivers' experiences longitudinally.…”

Propiedades psicométricas de una escala de resiliencia en cuidadores familiares de adultos mayores

“…Asimismo, son escasos los trabajos que estudian la sobrecarga y la depresión de cuidadores en yuxtaposición con variables psicológicas positivas como la resiliencia (Jones et al, 2019a;Mulud & McCarthy, 2017;Palacio et al, 2018), a pesar de que se ha encontrado que esta puede estar asociada al bienestar subjetivo (Domínguez-Guedea et al, 2011;Joling et al, 2016), al afrontamiento directo y revalorativo ante los problemas (Cerquera et al, 2017;Valadez-Roque et al, 2017), así como al uso de recursos de apoyo social (Crespo & Fernández-Lansac, 2015;Jones et al, 2019b;Ong et al, 2018).…”