Respite utilization and responses to loss among family caregivers: relationship matters

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.