title: Dementia caregivers' coping strategies and their relationship to health and well-being: the Cache County Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prior research identifies that psychological outcomes among dementia caregivers are associated with their use of coping strategies. Few studies have tested the association of coping and health longitudinally.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined factors associated with the use of coping strategies over time and their associations with physical and mental health outcomes in a population-based sample of 226 dementia caregivers in Cache County, Utah, USA. Caregivers annually completed the Ways of Coping Checklist-Revised, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and a health interview. Care-recipient cognitive and functional abilities were obtained using the Mini-Mental State Exam and the Clinical Dementia Rating. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caregivers most frequently identified providing care as a problem (37.6%). Linear mixed models of caregiver coping strategies found that the use of most strategies were stable except for increasing Avoidance among adult child caregivers (β = 0.14, p = 0.048). On average, increased Wishful Thinking (β = 2.48, p < 0.001) or Blames Self (β = 1.06, p = 0.002) was associated with higher anxiety scores. Increased use of Blames Others among males (interaction, β = 0.28, p = 0.02) and greater use of Wishful Thinking among younger caregivers (interaction, β = -0.01, p = 0.01) were associated with more caregiver health conditions. Coping strategies were not associated with change in anxiety or health conditions over time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results emphasize the importance of caregiver coping strategies on caregiver health and well-being and may identify subgroups of persons at risk for worse outcomes.
authors.affiliation: a Psychology Department , Utah State University , Logan , UT , USA.
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fauth
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wanzek
authors.forename: Kathleen W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Piercy
authors.forename: Maria C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Norton
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Corcoran
authors.forename: Peter V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Rabins
authors.forename: Constantine G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Lyketsos
authors.forename: JoAnn T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Tschanz
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D013315:Stress, Psychological
keywords: caregiver coping; caregiver medical conditions; caregiver psychological outcomes; dementia; dementia caregiving; problem-focused coping
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