| Summary: | Informal caregiving is demanding and stressful but, can also be highly satisfying. Much of the research has focused on the negative impact at the expense of investigating the complex relationship between caregiver satisfaction and burden. The aim of the study was to investigate if coping strategies identified by the existing literature as less or more helpful were associated with burden and satisfaction and if the dependency of the carerecipient influenced the caregivers' levels of burden and satisfaction. Participants were 67 informal caregivers of people with dementia dwelling in the community. Standardised measures were used to measure caregiver burden, satisfaction and distress, the functional dependency of the carerecipient and the frequency of memory, behavioural and affective symptoms associated with the disease. The findings showed that burden and satisfaction were inversely related. Multiple regression analysis showed the perception of having lost control of one's life as a result of the care-recipient's illness accounted for most of the variance in burden. Feelings of closeness and enjoyment derived from time spent with the care-recipient accounted for most of the variance in satisfaction. The use of venting as a coping strategy accounted for most of the variance in burden. Satisfaction was related to the care-recipient's functional ability, but burden was not. The conclusions are discussed in light of existing literature on the relationship between satisfaction, burden and the role of processes in the selection of coping strategies and appraisal of the caregiving role. Drawing from other areas of psychology to further understand the complex relationship between burden and satisfaction is suggested. The implications with regard to clinical practice, such as staff training and further research, such as a retrospective qualitative study to investigate the changing relationship between burden and satisfaction during the course of caregiving are explored.
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