TY  - JOUR
A1  - Gellert, Paul
A1  - Häusler, Andreas
A1  - Gholami, Maryam
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Kuhlmey, Adelheid
A1  - Nordheim, Johanna
T1  - Own and partners’ dyadic coping and depressive symptoms in individuals with early-stage dementia and their caregiving partners
JF  - Aging & Mental Health
N2  - Objectives: In patients with early-stage dementia and their caregiving partners, reciprocal dyadic coping (DC) is crucial for preventing or reducing depressive symptoms in both partners. This study examines the relationships between ‘own DC’ and ‘perceived partner DC’ with depressive symptoms in couples coping with dementia on individual (actor effects) and cross-person (partner effects) levels.

Method: 164 individuals (82 patients with early-stage dementia and their 82 caregiving partners; ND = 82 dyads) participated in this prospective study with measures (DC, depressive symptoms, and dementia severity) taken at baseline and at six months. Each partner evaluated their own and the perceived partner DC. Actor–partner interdependence models were applied to the resulting four independent evaluations.

Results: Results differed substantially between patients and caregivers. DC was significantly related to patients’ but not to caregivers’ depressive symptoms, when adjustments were made for individual coping. Perceived partner DC showed a negative association with depressive symptoms in patients, whereas own DC was adversely related for actor as well as for partner effects across individuals.

Conclusion: The adverse association between the own DC of the caregiver and the patient on depressive symptoms of the patient might be due to inappropriate efforts or to the loss of autonomy as a care-receiver. DC is important in both patients and caregivers, as shown by the negative association between perceived partner DC and depressive symptoms in the patients, which might inform interventions that target the couple as a whole.
KW  - Dyadic coping
KW  - dementia
KW  - actor-partner interdependence model
KW  - caregiver
KW  - quality of life
KW  - depression
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2017.1334759
SN  - 1360-7863
SN  - 1364-6915
VL  - 22
IS  - 8
SP  - 1008
EP  - 1016
PB  - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
CY  - Abingdon
ER  -