A Couplehood Typology for Spouses of Institutionalized Persons With Alzheimer's Disease: Perceptions of “We”–“I”^*

Abstract

A qualitative analysis of 68 community‐dwelling spouses of institutionalized patients with Alzheimer's disease was conducted. The goal was to ascertain to what degree they perceived themselves as married. Five groups representing different degrees of couplehood emerged. Ranging from strong couplehood to no couplehood, groups were given the following terms: “’Til Death Do Us Parts,”“We, but …,”“Husbandless Wives/Wifeless Husbands,”“Becoming an I,” and “Unmarried Marrieds.” Ways to interpret this typology and implications for both further research and practitioners are described.

Making sense of dementia: Exploring the use of the Markers of Assimilation of Problematic Experiences in Dementia scale to understand how couples process a diagnosis of dementia

“…Despite this shift, research often continues to explore the impact of dementia from either the person's perspective (O'Connor et al, 2007) or more commonly, from that of their partner or 'carer' (Kaplan, 2001;Gilllies, 2012). However, as Prakke (2011) highlighted in her review, couples are rarely spoken to in unison.…”

Facing dementia as a we: Investigating couples’ challenges and communicative strategies for managing dementia

“…Kaplan proposes that the way the relationship develops at the onset of dementia depends on the quality of the relationship prior to dementia (Kaplan, 2001). The concept of couplehood has since been further used and developed by researchers within the field of dementia research (e.g.…”

“…This implies that two individuals are part of a couple, and are not only affected by dementia individually, but also have to manage it as a couple. Research has argued that when couplehood is shared with a spouse, it may also be shared during periods of dementia (Kaplan, 2001). Couples can then face dementia as a we rather than two individual I:s, and they can be creative in finding new solutions to their changing situation (McGovern, 2011;Hellström, 2007a).…”

“…The concept of couplehood in relation to dementia was first used by Lori Kaplan (2001), and it classifies the extent to which a person in a relationship with an institutionalised spouse diagnosed with AD perceives him or herself as belonging to a we or an I. Kaplan's classification ranges from strong to weak couplehood, from "Till death do us part", "We, but…", "Husbandless wives/wifeless husbands" and "Becoming an I" to "Unmarried marrieds". Kaplan proposes that the way the relationship develops at the onset of dementia depends on the quality of the relationship prior to dementia (Kaplan, 2001).…”

“…touching, gaze, tone of voice or bodily orientation). Couplehood, on the other hand, is mainly used as a theoretical concept indicating the level of intimacy or separateness expressed by couples (Kaplan, 2001), rather than involving an analysis of ongoing interaction.…”