Characterizing dementia caregiver style in managing care challenges: Cognitive and behavioral components.

Background: Caring for a person living with dementia can take a physical and emotional toll, but understudied is the process by which family caregivers actually provide care. Caregiver management styles may vary and affect care decision-making, experiences, receptivity to and participation in interventions, and outcomes for the caregiver and person living with dementia.

Methods: Participants included 100 primary family caregivers for persons with dementia who were on average 64 years old and had been providing care for 55 months, 74% women, and 18% nonwhite.

Accentuate the Positive: The Association Between Informal and Formal Supports and Caregiving Gains.

To promote resilience among caregivers for persons living with dementia (PLWDs), we examine how formal and informal supports are linked to caregiving gains, and whether gender moderates the association between supports and gains. Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study and associated National Study of Caregiving, sources of informal (emotional support, practical support, and help with the PLWD) and formal support (respite care, training program, support group) are considered as predictors of caregiving gains, with gender as a moderator of these associations. The sample included 707 caregivers for 502 PLWDs.

Discordant Chronic Conditions and Depressive Symptoms: Longitudinal Associations Among Middle-Aged and Older Couples.

Objectives: Individuals often manage chronic conditions in middle and later life that may diminish well-being. Little is known, however, about discordant conditions (i.e.