This study examines demoralization among a sample of sons, daughters, spouses, and other relatives of nursing home residents. Various aspects of the caregiving situation-caregiver burden and family members' feelings of guilt and worry about the placement-as well as social support, were significantly related to morale for the sample as a whole. However, when each group of family members was analyzed separately, the predictors of demoralization were found to vary. Spouses were the most vulnerable group, experiencing the highest demoralization. Caregiving-related factors had the greatest impact on demoralization among spouses and relatives other than spouses and adult children.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aneshensel, C.
and J. D. Stone. 1982. "Stress and Depression: A Test of the Buffering Model of Social Support."Archives of General Psychiatry39:1392-1396.
2.
Bell, R. A.
, J. B. LeRoy, and J. J. Stephenson. 1982. "Evaluating the Mediating Effects of Social Support Upon Life Events and Depressive Symptoms."Journal of Community Psychology10:325-340.
3.
Berkman, L. F.
, C. S. Berkman, K. Stanislav, D. H. Freeman, Jr., L. Leo, A. M. Ostfeld, J. Comoni-Huntley, and J. A. Brody. 1986. "Depressive Symptoms in Relation to Physical Health and Functioning in the Elderly."American Journal of Epidemiology124:372-388.
4.
Blazer, D.1982. Depression in Late Life. St. Louis, MO: C. V. Mosby.
5.
Brody, E. M.1981. " 'Women in the Middle' and Family Help to Older People."The Gerontologist21:471-480.
6.
Brody, E. M.
, N. P. Dempsey, and R. A. Pruchno. 1990. "Mental Health of Sons and Daughters of the Institutionalized Aged."The Gerontologist30:212-219.
7.
Brody, E. M
and G. Spark. 1966. "Institutionalization of the Aged: A Family Crisis."Family Process5:76-90.
8.
Cath, S. H.1972. "The Institutionalization of a Parent: A Nadir of Life."Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry5:25-46.
9.
Colombotos, J.
, S. Gorman, and L. Grau. 1988. The Effects of Caring for AIDS Patients on Health Care Workers. Final report submitted to the Health Sciences Improvement Fund, Inc., New York.
10.
Deimling, G. T.
and D. M. Bass. 1986. "Symptoms of Mental Impairment Among Elderly Adults and Their Effects on Family Caregivers."Journal of Gerontology. 29:79-84.
11.
Deimling, G. T.
and S. W. Poulshock. 1985. "The Transition From Family In-Home Care to Institutional Care."Research on Aging7:563-575.
12.
Dohrenwend, B. S.
and B. P. Dohrenwend. 1974. Stressful Life Events: TheirNature and Effects. New York: Wiley.
13.
Dohrenwend, B. P.
, P. E. Shrout, G. Ergi, and F. S. Mendelsohn. 1980. "Nonspecific Psychological Distress and Other Dimensions of Psychopathology."Archives of General Psychiatry37:1229.
14.
Galagher, D.
, A. Wrabetz, S. Lovett, S. D. Maestro, and J. Rose. 1989. "Depression and Other Negative Affects in Family Caregivers." In Alzheimer's Disease Treatment and Family Stress: Directions for Research, edited by E. Light and B. Lebowitz. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
15.
George, L. K.
and L. P. Gwyther. 1986. "Caregiver Well-being: A Multidimensional Examination of Family Caregivers of Demented Adults."The Gerontologist26:253-259.
16.
Grau, L.
, J. Colombotos, and S. Gorman. 1992. "Psychological Morale and Job Satisfaction Among Homecare Workers Who Care for Persons with AIDS."Women and Health18:1-22.
17.
Horowitz, A.1985. "Sons and Daughters as Caregivers to Older Parents: Difference in Role Performance and Consequences."The Gerontologist25:612-617.
18.
Lazarus, R. S.
and S. Folkman. 1984. "Coping and Adaptation." In Handbook of Behavioral Medicine, edited by W. D. Gentry. New York: Guilford.
19.
Link, B.
and B. P. Dohrenwend. 1980. "Formulation of Hypotheses About the True Prevalence of Demoralization in the U.S." In Mental Illness in the United States, edited by B. P. Dohrenwend, B. S. Dohrenwend, M. S. Gould, B. Link, R. Neugesaver, and R. Wunsch-Hertzig. New York: Praeger.
20.
Monroe, S. M.
, E. J. Bromet, M. M. Connell, and S. C. Steiner. 1986. "Social Support, Life Events and Depressive Symptoms."Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology54:424-431.
21.
Montgomery, R. J.1982. "Impact of Institutional Care Policies on Family Integration."The Gerontologist22:54-58.
22.
Montgomery, R.J.V.
and J. Prothero. 1986. Developing Respite Services for the Elderly. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
23.
Pearlin, L. I.
, J. T. Mullan, S. J. Simple, and H. M. Skaff. 1990. "Caregiving and the Stress Process: An Overview of the Concept and Their Measures."The Gerontologist30:583-594.
24.
Pagel, M. D.
, J. Becker, and D. B. Coppel. 1985. "Loss of Control, Self-Blame, and Depression: An Investigation of Spouse Caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease Patients."Journal of Abnormal Psychology94:169-182.
25.
Pratt, C. C.
, V. L. Schmall, S. Wright, and M. Cleland. 1985. "Burden and Coping Strategies of Caregivers to Alzheimer's Patients."Family Relations34:27-33.
26.
Pruchno, R. A.
, J. E. Michaels, and S. L. Potashnik. 1990. "Predictors of Institutionalization Among Alzheimer Disease Victims With Caregiving Spouses."Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences45:S259-S265.
27.
Pruchno, R.
and N. Resch. 1989. "Husbands and Wives as Caregivers: Antecedents of Depression and Burden."The Gerontologist29:159-165.
28.
Quayhagen, M. P.
and M. Quayhagen. 1988. "Alzheimer's Stress: Coping With the Caregiving Role."The Gerontologist28:391-396.
29.
Stephens, M. P.
, J. M. Kinney, and P. K. Ogrocki. 1991. "Stressors and Well-Being Among Caregivers to Older Adults With Dementia: The In-Home Versus Nursing Home Experience."The Gerontologist31:217-223.
30.
Stephens, S.
and J. Christianson. 1986. The Informal Care of the Elderly. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
31.
Stommel, M.
, C. Given, and B. Given. 1990. "Depression as an Overriding Variable Explaining Caregiver Burden."Journal of Aging and Health2:81-102.
32.
Stone, R.
, G. L. Cafferata, and J. Sangl. 1987. "Caregivers of the Frail Elderly: A National Profile."The Gerontologist27:616-626.
33.
Tennstedt, S.
, G. Cafferata, and L. Sullivan. 1992. "Depression Among Caregivers of Impaired Elders."Journal of Aging and Health4:43-57.
34.
Tennstedt, S. L.
, J. B. McKinlay, and L. M. Sullivan. 1989. "Informal Care for Frail Elders: The Role of Secondary Caregivers."The Gerontologist29:677-683.
35.
Teresi, J.
, D. Holmes, M. Holmes, S. Bergman, Y. King, and N. Bentur. 1989. "Factors Relating to Institutional Risk Among Elderly Members of Israeli Kibbutzim."The Gerontologist29:203-208.
36.
Teresi, J.
, J. Toner, R. Bennett, and D. Wilder. 1988. "Caregiver Burden and Long Term Care Planning."Journal of Applied Social Sciences13:192-214.
37.
Tobin, S. S.
and M. A. Lieberman. 1976. Last Home for the Aged: Critical Implications of Institutionalization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
38.
Townsend, P.1965. "The Effects of Family Structure on the Likelihood of Admission to an Institution in Old Age: The Application of a General Theory." In Social Structure and the Family: Generational Relations, edited by E. Shanas and G. Strieb. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
39.
Troll, L.
, S. Miller, and R. Atchley. 1979. Families in Later Life. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
40.
Turner, R.
and S. Noh. 1988. "Physical Disability and Depression: A Longitudinal Analysis."Journal ofAging and Social Behavior29:23-37.
41.
Young, R. F.
and E. Kahana. 1989. "Specifying Caregiver Outcomes: Gender and Relationship Aspects of Caregiving Strain."The Gerontologist29:660-665.
42.
Wilder, D. E.
, J. A. Teresi, and R. G. Bennett. 1983. "Family Burden and Dementia." In The Dementias, edited by R. Mayeux and W. G. Rosen. New York: Raven.
43.
Zarit, S. H.
, K. E. Reever, and J. Bach-Peterson. 1980. "Relatives of the Impaired Elderly: Correlates of Feelings of Burden."The Gerontologist20:649-655.
44.
Zarit, S.
, P. Todd, and J. Zarit. 1986. "Subjective Burden of Husbands and Wives as Caregivers: A Longitudinal Study."The Gerontologist26:260-266.
45.
Zarit, S. H.
, J. M. Zarit, and K. E. Reever. 1982. "Memory Training for Severe Memory Loss: Effects on Senile Dementia Patients and Their Families."The Gerontologist22:373-377.
