Preliminary Evidence for Effectiveness of Resourcefulness Training in Women Dementia Caregivers

Nearly 10 million women in the U.S. are caregivers for an elder with dementia, which often produces overwhelming stress and adversely affects their health. Resourcefulness training (RT) may promote the caregiver's optimal health and continue in their caregiving role. This pilot trial of 138 women dementia caregivers examined the effectiveness of RT on perceived stress, depressive cognitions, and negative emotions over time. Caregivers were first randomized to RT or no RT and then further randomized into random versus choice conditions followed by assignment to the journal or recorder methods, thus creating eight groups. We examined differences on perceived stress, depressive cognitions, and negative emotions between groups: 1) RT versus no-RT, 2) choice versus random condition; and 3) journaling versus recording. Significant time by group interactions were found on stress (F=4.36, p<.05), depressive cognitions (F=10.93, p<.001), and negative emotions (F=20.48, p<.001) in the RT versus no RT group. No differences were found between the random versus choice conditions or the journaling versus recording methods for practicing the RT skills. The results provide evidence for the effectiveness of RT for decreasing stress, depressive cognitions, and negative emotions in women caregivers of elders with dementia. The findings also suggest the need for further examination of the effects of allowing caregivers to choose a method for practicing RT in larger samples if caregivers of elders with dementia.