Coping resources and depression in the caregiving spouses of Alzheimer patients

This study deals with the self-rated impact of caring for a spouse with Alzheimer's disease at home. Impacts on the caregiver's marriage, work, recreation and mood were investigated as a function of the patient's disability level and of the coping resources which caregivers reported were available to and/or used by them. The patient's disability level had a more negative impact on the caregiver's marriage and recreation than did the coping resource variables whereas the reverse was true for work. The caregiver's work was the only life area in which the availability and mobilization of coping resources influenced the caregiver's level of depression. To clarify these results, additional regression analyses were conducted separately for homemakers and employed subjects. While mobilized coping resources (social activity level and homemaking activity level) were correlated with depression among homemakers, none of the indicators of mobilized coping resources was correlated with depression among workers. These findings suggest that the role in which stress occurs is an important factor in understanding stress and the coping process.