PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF INFORMAL CAREGIVERS OF ELDERLY PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA - CHANGES OVER TIME

Psychological well-being of caregivers of demented elderly people was investigated during two years of follow-up. Three groups of caregivers were distinguished: those providing care for two years after baseline ; those whose care-recipient died within the first year after baseline , and those whose care-recipient was institutionalized within the firs t year. Compared to general population norms, all groups of caregivers showed a great amount of psychological distress, especially those who se elder suffering from dementia deceased within the first year after baseline. The course of psychological well-being of caregivers who con tinued to provide care during follow-up supported the wear-and-tear mo del: an overall deterioration of psychological well-being was found (m easured by the GHQ-12 SCL-90-R and SWLS) as elders' functioning declin ed and caregiving at home continued. Specific increases were found on total amount of psychological distress, but also on the SCL-90-R subsc ales: Depression, Anxiety, Interpersonal Sensitivity and Paranoid Idea tion and Difficulty with Cognitive Performance. No overall changes wer e found for caregivers whose demented care-recipient had died or was i nstitutionalized in the first year after baseline. These data suggest that the high level of psychological distress and the deterioration in psychological well-being among informal caregivers of dementia patien ts is a reason to reconsider the merits of the current trend to have d emented older people live on their own as long as possible. Additional support should be considered.