Beyond Strain: Personal Strengths and Mental Health of Mexican and Argentinean Dementia Caregivers.

Introduction: Life expectancy is increasing in Latin America resulting in the need for more family caregivers for older adults with dementia. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationships between personal strengths (optimism, sense of coherence [SOC], and resilience) and the mental health of dementia caregivers from Latin America.

Method: Primary family dementia caregivers (n = 127) were identified via convenience sampling at the Instituto de Neurociencias de San Lucas, Argentina, and CETYS University, in Baja California, Mexico and completed measures of these constructs.

Findings: Personal strengths explained between 32% and 50% of the variance in caregiver mental health. In a series of hierarchical multiple regressions, more manageability (β = -.38, p = .001), general resilience (β = -.24, p = .012), and social competence (β = -.21, p = .034) were uniquely associated with lower depression. Greater comprehensibility (β = -.28, p = .008) was uniquely associated with decreased burden, and manageability was marginally related (β = -.21, p< .10). Greater optimism (β = .37, p< .001) and manageability (β = .27, p = .004) were uniquely associated with increased life satisfaction.

Discussion: The personal strengths of caregivers in Latin America may be particularly important for their mental health because of the culturally imbedded sense of duty toward older family members.

Implications: Incorporating strengths-based approaches into research on caregiver interventions in regions where caregiving is a highly culturally valued role such as Latin America may have the potential to improve the mental health of dementia caregivers.