This study investigated the relationship between activities during respite time and depressive symptoms in family caregivers (N = 74) of older adults receiving in-home respite services. Contrary to prior research, demographic contextual variables (caregiver gender, household income, and dyad relationship) and care recipient problems (behavioral dysfunction and functional impairment) were not associated with caregiver depressive symptoms, nor was total minutes engaged in discretionary activities during respite. Self-reported depressive symptomatology in family caregivers was significantly and inversely related to both past service usage and total minutes of chore time completed on a typical home-based respite day. Implications for research in this area and service delivery are discussed.

Family caregivers of physically and cognitively impaired older adults face multiple challenges when providing care, including responses to tangible and anticipated losses. However, little is known about the grief experiences of family caregivers and how these might differentially influence the care-related behaviors of spouses and adult children. The present study examined the longitudinal relationship between grief reactions in current spousal and adult-children caregivers (N = 72) and in-home respite utilization over 3 months. The Heartfelt Sadness and Longing subscale of the Marwit-Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory Short Form (S. J. Marwit & T. M. Meuser, 2005) was used to assess the grief experiences of participants, and demonstrated good internal reliability among spousal and adult-child caregivers of older adults with a variety of cognitive and physical conditions. Although there was not an association between spouses' grief subscale scores and later respite use, adult children were more likely to use respite after reporting higher levels of grief reactions. This study contributes to our ongoing understanding of differences between spousal and adult-children caregivers of impaired older adults and also lends further support for the reliability and construct validity of the Heartfelt Sadness and Longing subscale of the Marwit-Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory.

This longitudinal study applies the behavioral model of health services use (Andersen, 1995) to the prediction of in-home respite utilization within the naturalistic context of ongoing respite services. Participants (N = 74) were family caregivers who provided informal care for a physically and/or cognitively impaired older adult. All participants resided in the Midwest and received in-home respite services managed by an Area Agency on Aging and funded through the National Family Caregiver Support Program. The primary significant predictor of 3-month in-home respite utilization was the caregiving dyad’s past in-home respite usage. Contrary to prior research, demographic predisposing variables (relationship type, household income) and objective need variables (behavioral dysfunction, functional impairment) were not associated with hours of respite use over 3 months, nor was level of caregiver depressive symptoms. Implications of these data for case management, the provision of in-home respite services, and future research are discussed.