Association of life events and psychological distress in family caregivers of dementia patients

  • J. E. Owen
  • , D. L. Roth
  • , A. B. Stevens
  • , H. J. McCarty
  • , O. J. Clay
  • , V. G. Wadley
  • , K. T. Goode
  • , W. E. Haley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Relationships between life events and psychological distress were investigated for 197 dementia caregivers and 218 non-caregivers. Participants indicated which events on the Louisville Older Persons Events Scale they had experienced over the past six months. Life events were then classified as associated or unassociated with care-giving using differences in incidence rates between caregivers and non-caregivers. Primary care-giving stressors and associated life events were most predictive of psychological distress among caregivers. Among non-caregivers, unassociated negative life events were the strongest predictors of depression and life satisfaction. Implications for the assessment of life events and caregiver interventions are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)62-71
Number of pages10
JournalAging and Mental Health
Volume6
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2002
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Phychiatric Mental Health
  • Gerontology
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

Keywords

  • Humans
  • Life Change Events
  • Middle Aged
  • Female
  • Male
  • Caregivers/psychology
  • Stress, Psychological/psychology
  • Dementia/psychology

Cite this