TY - JOUR A1 - Deeken, Friederike A1 - Häusler, Andreas A1 - Nordheim, Johanna A1 - Rapp, Michael Armin A1 - Knoll, Nina A1 - Rieckmann, Nina T1 - Psychometric properties of the Perceived Stress Scale in a sample of German dementia patients and their caregivers JF - International psychogeriatrics N2 - Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric characteristics of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) in a sample of dementia patients and their spousal caregivers. Methods: We investigated the reliability and validity of the 14-item PSS in a sample of 80 couples, each including one spouse who had been diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia (mean age 75.55, SD = 5.85, 38.7% female) and one spousal caregiver (mean age 73.06, SD = 6.75, 61.3% female). We also examined the factor structure and sensitivity of the scale with regard to gender differences. Results: Exploratory factor analysis of the PSS revealed a two-factor solution for the scale; the first factor reflected general stress while the second factor consisted of items reflecting the perceived ability to cope with stressors. A confirmatory factor analysis verified that the data were a better fit for the two-factor model than a one-factor model. The two factors of the PSS showed good reliability for patients as well as for caregivers ranging between alpha = 0.73 and alpha = 0.82. Perceived stress was significantly positively correlated with depressive symptomatology in both caregivers and patients. Mean PSS scores did not significantly differ between male and female patients nor did they differ between male and female caregivers. Conclusion: The present data indicate that the PSS provides a reliable and valid measure of perceived stress in dementia patients and their caregivers. KW - Perceived Stress Scale KW - psychometric properties KW - dementia KW - caregiver Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610217001387 SN - 1041-6102 SN - 1741-203X VL - 30 IS - 1 SP - 39 EP - 47 PB - Cambridge Univ. Press CY - New York ER - 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Niemann-Mirmehdi, Mechthild A1 - Häusler, Andreas A1 - Gellert, Paul A1 - Nordheim, Johanna T1 - Perceived Overprotection and Its Association With Quality of Life in Dementia JF - Geropsych - The Journal of gerontopsychology and geriatric psychiatry N2 - To date, few studies have focused on perceived overprotection from the perspective of people with dementia (PwD). In the present examination, the association of perceived overprotection in PwD is examined as an autonomy-restricting factor and thus negative for their mental well-being. Cross-sectional data from the prospective DYADEM study of 82 patient/partner dyads (mean age = 74.26) were used to investigate the association between overprotection, perceived stress, depression, and quality of life (QoL). The analyses show that an overprotective contact style with PwD has a significant positive association with stress and depression, and has a negative association with QoL. The results emphasize the importance of avoiding an overprotective care style and supporting patient autonomy. KW - dementia KW - perceived overprotection KW - perceived stress KW - depression KW - quality of life Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000207 SN - 1662-9647 SN - 1662-971X VL - 32 IS - 3 SP - 125 EP - 134 PB - Hogrefe CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Häusler, Andreas A1 - Sánchez, Alba A1 - Gellert, Paul A1 - Deeken, Friederike A1 - Rapp, Michael Armin A1 - Nordheim, Johanna T1 - Perceived stress and quality of life in dementia patients and their caregiving spouses: does dyadic coping matter? JF - International psychogeriatrics N2 - Background: Given the well-established association between perceived stress and quality of life (QoL) in dementia patients and their partners, our goal was to identify whether relationship quality and dyadic coping would operate as mediators between perceived stress and QoL. Results: We found negative correlations between stress and QoL in both partners (QoL-AD: r = -0.62; p < 0.001; WHO-QOL Overall: r = -0.27; p = 0.02). Spousal caregivers had a significantly lower DCI total score than dementia patients (p < 0.001). Dyadic coping was a significant mediator of the relationship between stress and QoL in spousal caregivers (z = 0.28; p = 0.02), but not in dementia patients. Likewise, relationship quality significantly mediated the relationship between stress and QoL in caregivers only (z = -2.41; p = 0.02). Conclusions: This study identified dyadic coping as a mediator on the relationship between stress and QoL in (caregiving) partners of dementia patients. In patients, however, we found a direct negative effect of stress on QoL. The findings suggest the importance of stress reducing and dyadic interventions for dementia patients and their partners, respectively. KW - dementia KW - dyadic coping KW - perceived stress KW - quality of life Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610216001046 SN - 1041-6102 SN - 1741-203X VL - 28 SP - 1857 EP - 1866 PB - Cambridge Univ. Press CY - New York ER -