The relationship of problem behaviors in dementia patients to the depression and burden of caregiving spouses

Abstract

This study examined how 70 caregiving spouses of Alzheimer patients varied in their reports of depression and burden, and how these reports were associated with the nature and severity of patient behavior problems, in particular memory-related, depressive, and disruptive behaviors. Depression and burden were found to be overlapping, but separate constructs, with about half of the variance unshared. Caregivers were divided into subgroups according to high and low levels of depression and burden, with the three most common groups being low depression/low burden (46 percent), high depression/high burden (26 percent), and low depression/high burden (23 percent). Only 6 percent of caregivers reported high depression/low burden. The level of patient behavior problems varied significantly among the remaining depression/burden classifications. Caregivers in the high depression/high burden and low depression/high burden categories reported greater numbers of disruptive behaviors and greater reactivity to memory-related and disruptive behavior problems, compared to the low depression/low burden group. The implications of these findings as they pertain to further elaboration of individual differences in caregiving experiences and interventions are discussed