Institutionalization of demented elderly: the role of caregiver characteristics

Background Three sets of caregiver characteristics were examined with respe ct to their explanatory value for institutionalization of demented elderly people: commitment to the caregiving relationship, psychological distress, and personality traits. Method Logistic regression was used to test whether these caregiver charact eristics were risk factors for institutionalization of demented elderly peo ple in the first year after baseline measurement (N=138). Control variables were caregivers' sex, age and education. Results The results showed the importance of commitment to the caregiving r elationship, indicated by type of relationship between caregiver and care r ecipient. Demented people cared for by non-spouses were more likely to be i nstitutionalized as compared to those cared for by spouses. For non-spouse care-givers, being more extravert increased the likelihood of institutional placement, whereas for spouse caregivers perceiving more pressure from inf ormal increased this likelihood. Conclusions These findings are in agreement with the assumption that non-sp ouses are less strongly committed to the caregiving relationship as compare d to spouses. Results were independent from elders' impairment in cognitive functioning and (Instrumental) Activities of Daily Living. Caregivers' psy chopathology was not a risk factor at all, which is a matter of concern, re garding the consequences for caregivers' own health and health-care utiliza tion, but also for their treatment of the demented elder. Copyright (C) 200 1 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.