Current relationship quality and attachment predict daily stress and affect in dementia caregivers

Caregivers of dementia patients often experience elevated stress and negative affect, yet daily fluctuations in these experiences and their relation to attachment style and relationship quality (RQ) remain underexplored.

For 14 days, we assessed the daily experiences of 35 dementia caregivers, including their positive and negative affect, stress, attachment, and relationships.

Results from multilevel modeling showed that more positive current RQ was related to lower daily stress. In contrast, a more negative RQ, combined with greater attachment anxiety and avoidance, correlated with increased negative emotions and stress.

These results underscore how the daily emotional lives of dementia caregivers in a primarily middle-to-late adulthood sample (mean age = 57.5 years) are formed by current relationship dynamics and attachment styles. These results point to possible intervention strategies that may improve caregiver well-being.