title: Predictors of well-being in bereaved former hospice caregivers: the role of caregiving stressors, appraisals, and social resources.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current literature on caregiving and bereavement indicates that the relationship between these two common life events is complex and needs to be further studied in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their interaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the current project, 50 spouses of hospice patients with end-stage lung cancer or dementia were assessed while caregiving and at an average of 4 months after the death on a variety of measures, including caregiving stressors, appraisals, social resources, and well-being. A stress process model was utilized in order to examine which preloss factors were associated with postloss depression, life satisfaction, and grief.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results indicated that patient diagnosis (cancer or dementia) and caregiver appraisals (stressfulness of functional impairment and positive aspects of caregiving) were not predictors on any of our well-being outcomes. However, fewer months caregiving was a significant predictor of both higher depression and grief postloss. Additionally, lower levels of social activities, smaller social networks, and lower satisfaction with social support were significantly associated with higher postloss depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results support both the resource depletion and anticipatory grief hypotheses and suggest that short-term bereavement outcomes are different than factors that predict well-being while caregiving. Future studies should address whether long-term bereavement outcomes differ by baseline caregiving characteristics to guide intervention research.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VAMC/Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27705, USA. allison.burton@duke.edu
authors.forename: Allison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Haley
authors.forename: Brent J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Small
authors.forename: Margaret R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Finley
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dillinger-Vasille
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schonwetter
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001601:Bereavement; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*