Burden and anticipatory grief in caregivers of family members with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze the different factors that intervene in the task of caring for relatives of people with Alzheimer's and other dementias. A first objective focused on assessing the relation between burden and anticipatory grief, considering the possibility of social support and the risk of psychopathology. A second objective aimed to examine whether caregiver burden modulates the relationships between anticipatory grief and psychopathology. A cross-sectional design was employed. METHODS: The sample consists of 129 participants who care for a family member with Alzheimer's and other dementias. A protocol based on a battery of tests has been applied and a mediation analysis was carried out. RESULTS: The results show a positive relationship between burden and anticipatory grief. Social support could have an indirect relationship with anticipatory grief, based on its effect on the level of psychopathology and caregiver burden. Finally, a modulation model reflects that the relationship between anticipatory grief and psychopathology is strong, the latter having a greater effect as a result variable than as a risk variable. However, it seems that the relationship between grief and psychopathology is better explained directly than not through the modulating effect of the caregiver burden. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The results obtained encourage us to think that an approach focused on intervening in the anticipatory grief may be an opportunity to reduce or buffer other caregiving outcomes, especially those related to the perception of caregiver burden and psychopathology.

Alzheimer's Disease Caregiver Characteristics and Their Relationship with Anticipatory Grief.

In Alzheimer's disease, two fundamental aspects become important for caregivers: ambiguity and ambivalence. Thus, anticipatory grief is considered an active psychological process that is very different from the mere anticipation of death. The present study aims to determine which characteristics of family caregivers of people with dementia, such as age, gender, educational level, relationship with the person with dementia, years with dementia or years as a caregiver, are related to the presence of anticipatory grief. A cross-sectional design was employed. The sample consisted of a total of 129 subjects who cared for a family member with dementia. A sociodemographic data sheet and a battery of tests measure the presence of anticipatory grief, caregiver burden and/or psychopathology. The results obtained allowed us to confirm some of the hypotheses regarding the anticipatory grief construct, the importance of the care time factor, in years and per day, as well as the relevance of the previous demographic and psychopathological profile (being female, spouse function and possible depressive symptomatology). Likewise, from the prediction analyzes performed, it seems that these variables can predict anticipatory grief. These results propose interesting opportunities to formulate care proposals to professionals and family caregivers in relation to care tasks and caregiver skills.