Influence of personality on caregiver's burden, depression and distress related to the BPSD

Abstract

Objective: We hypothesize that the personality influences the caregiver's depression, burden and distress related to BPSD. Subjects and methods: Participants were 105 consecutive patients with dementia and their family caregivers, living at home, attending a Dementia Clinic. A cross-sectional design was used with an applied a structured interview at home. Comprehensive assessments included: personality (NEO-FFI), burden (ZBI), depression (CES-D) and distress related to BPSD (NPI-distress). Statistical Path analysis was used to study the hypothetical causal and mediating effects between independent and criterion variables. Results: Neuroticism increased, whereas extraversion decreased, both caregiver's depression and burden. Agreeableness was also found to decrease the burden. The personality characteristics only indirectly influenced the caregiver's distress related to BPSD. Conclusion: These results reinforce the importance of including personality as an individual resource of the caregiver in the conceptual models and research on caregiving. Assessment of caregiver's personality characteristics should be taken into account for the planning of intervention programs.

The adverse mental health of carers: Does the patient diagnosis play a role?

“…It is likely that there are other factors inherent to the carers themselves that have important contributions to depression, such as carer personality. Neuroticism, in particular, has been found to be significantly associated with depression and burden [3,23].…”

“…They are more likely to have poor physical health, and report lower quality of life [2,3]. Some authors have suggested that older carers are at the highest risk of these adverse effects [4,5].…”

Quality of Life in Parkinson's Disease Caregivers: The Contribution of Personality Traits

“…It has been suggested that people expressing neuroticism need better coping methods and relaxation strategies, in order to decrease their psychological distress [11]. In contrast, a high level of extroversion in caregivers of patients with dementia appears to be protective, with data showing it is associated with decreased CB and depression, which may contribute to an improved QoL [16]. One recent study investigating familial caregivers of community-dwelling older adults with multiple functional impairments demonstrated that whilst extroversion was positively associated with better physical and mental health, neuroticism showed a negative relationship [17].…”

Cultural aspects in dementia: differences in the awareness of Brazilian caregivers

“…18 It has been reported that symptoms such as delusions, agitation/aggression, anxiety, irritability/lability, and dysphoria/depression are strongly associated with higher caregiver burden. 19 These symptoms may arouse negative feelings, such as entrapment, shame, or guilt, which may lead to higher levels of depression and physical symptoms.…”