Emotional health of black and white dementia caregivers: a contextual examination.
The aim of this study was to examine emotional health (e.g., depressive symptomatology) among 295 Black and 425 White dementia caregivers. I selected caregivers from the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregivers' Health (REACH) data set. I used regression analysis to examine racial differences and the relationship between the contextual variables and depressive symptoms. Overall, age, size of social network, satisfaction with social activities, financial difficulty, positive aspects of caregiving, stressfulness appraisal, and health problems were related to depressive symptoms. Contextual factors were not homogeneous across race; the number of memory and behavior problems of the care recipient was associated with more reports of depressive symptoms among Black caregivers only. Results suggest the importance of examining various contexts surrounding the actual environment in which Black and White dementia caregivers provide care.
Williams
Ishan C
IC
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. icwilliams@virginia.edu
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D001741:Black or African American