title: Emotion work in family caregiving for persons with dementia.
abstract: Emotion work enhances emotional well-being and emotional support in relationships between two people. Emotion work is a part of family work but has not been described in the context of caring for a family member with dementia. Content analysis applied to 11 interviews of informal caregivers describing their interactions with a person with dementia resulted in four categories of emotion work: (1) managing feelings, (2) weighing options, (3) being parental, and (4) ensuring emotional well-being. Caregivers performed emotion work to meet the feeling rules of being a good caregiver, but often with emotional dissonance between the caregivers' true feelings.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing, Austin, Texas 78701-1499, USA. csimpson@mail.nur.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Cherie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Gayle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Acton
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003073:Cognitive Dissonance; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003657:Decision Making; D004644:Emotions; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D012944:Social Support