VARIABILITY IN DAILY EVENTS AND MOOD OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS TO COGNITIVELY IMPAIRED ELDERS

This study explores the relationship of daily mood and daily events in a caregiving context. Family caregivers to demented elders (N = 43) k ept fourteen-day diaries of: 1) caregiving activities, 2) disruptive p atient behaviors, and 3) daily mood Independent raters and cluster ana lysis support the hypothesis of three mood patterns. Differences among the three clusters in the relationship of mood and daily caregiving e vents were explored. The findings indicate that some caregivers are hi ghly distressed by caregiving demands, some report moderate levels of distress, and others show no relationship between mood and daily event s. The varied patterns support an individual differences approach to u nderstanding caregiving and in the design of interventions.