Attitudes toward aging as a psychological resource among caregivers of persons living with dementia

Abstract

Although there are a number of existing interventions to support caregivers in managing the behaviors and functioning of care recipients with dementia, less attention has focused on caring for caregivers and understanding how their characteristics may contribute to distress or wellbeing Positive psychological resources can promote health and well-being among caregivers and may also serve as protective factors that buffer negative caregiving experiences and minimize burden and stress. Informal dementia caregivers (N = 99, mean age = 54) answered survey questionnaires related to psychological resources (e.g., Brief Aging Perceptions Questionnaire, Caregiver Self-efficacy for Managing Dementia, Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale) to explore the connection to their emotional health. After controlling for caregiver factors and care recipient factors, caregivers' aging attitudes and caregiving self-efficacy were predictive of both caregivers' positive and negative affect. Caregivers' aging attitudes also directly affected their emotional health and indirectly influenced emotional health through self-efficacy for caregiving. Future caregiver outreach and education should highlight positive aspects of caregiving, provide accurate dementia information, and improve psychoeducation regarding typical/atypical aging experiences while dispelling negative age stereotypes, which may foster better adaptation and resilience to a dementia caregiver role and strengthen positive mental representations of dementia caregiving.