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Assessment of the efficacy of a stress management program for informal caregivers of dependent older adults
- Authors:
- LOPEZ Javier, CRESPO Maria, ZARIT Steven H.
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 47(2), April 2007, pp.205-214.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The majority of dependent older adults receive care at home from a family member. Caregiving places enormous demands on these caregivers and the negative consequences associated with caregiving are well documented. This Spanish study compared the effectiveness of two active interventions to a waiting-list control condition to improve emotional well-being in family caregivers. The study randomized distressed caregivers (N = 91) of physically impaired older adults to one of three conditions: traditional weekly sessions, minimal-therapist-contact sessions, or a waiting-list control group. These manual-guided interventions took place over a 2-month period. Caregivers in the traditional weekly sessions experienced the highest reduction in depressive and anxious symptoms. Compared with control participants, caregivers in the traditional weekly sessions had lower post treatment levels of depression and anxiety. They had also lower levels of depression than did caregivers in the minimal-therapist-contact intervention. These data suggest that traditional weekly sessions may be effective in reducing caregiver anxiety and depression. They further suggest that traditional weekly sessions are better than no intervention, and they are also better than a minimal-therapist-contact intervention.
Analysis of the efficacy of a psychotherapeutic program to improve the emotional status of caregivers of elderly dependent relatives
- Authors:
- LOPEZ Javier, CRESPO Maria
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 12(4), July 2008, pp.451-461.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This Spanish study examined the long-term impact of a psychotherapeutic cognitive-behavioural program with two intervention formats (traditional weekly sessions (TWS) and minimal therapist contact (MTC)) in caregivers who suffered from emotional problems due to caring for elderly dependent relatives. The 86 participants, who lived with the older persons at home, were randomized into one of the two intervention formats. The individual treatment program was carried out during an 8-week interval. Measures of anxiety, depression, burden, coping, social support, and self-esteem were analyzed at pre- and post-treatment, and at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Significant effects were found in the expected direction in most of the measures analyzed. The participants in the intervention reduced significantly their levels of anxiety, depression, and burden, and they improved the levels of problem-focused coping, social support, and self-esteem. The two intervention formats had different evolutions, with better effects in the TWS format, especially at the first post-test measurements, but the differences tended to decrease over time. These data suggest that individual psychotherapeutic interventions with caregivers are efficient to reduce their emotional problems, and that this effect is mediated by improvement both in their appraisal of the situation and in their personal resources.