Abstract
The detrimental effects of active caregiving on the health of caregivers has been examined, but less is known about caregiver health after caregiving ends. Research revealed stress-related health conditions diagnosed during caregiving failed to improve for many years post-caregiving. The purpose of this cross-sectional, correlational study was to examine the influence of caregiver personal variables (e.g. personality traits, coping strategies, pre-loss depression), environmental variables (e.g. length of nursing home placement, length of post-caregiving), and post-caregiving guilt on psychological health (e.g. depression, anxiety, sleep quality) in former family caregivers of people with dementia. A convenience sample of former dementia caregivers (N=171) completed a 147-item online survey, containing 6 standardized instruments and demographic questions. Using Richard Lazarus’ transactional theory of stress as a foundation, the relationships between post-caregiving guilt, personal and environmental variables, and psychological health were examined with Pearson correlation coefficients and hierarchical linear regression models. Post-caregiving guilt was moderately correlated with depression (r=.39) and anxiety (r=.34). After controlling for relevant covariates, use of dysfunctional coping strategies and neurotic personality explained 32% of the variance in depression and 24% of the variance in anxiety. Dysfunctional coping, pre-loss depression, and extraverted personality explained 17% of the variance in sleep quality. The study’s findings highlighted a prominent relationship between personal variables, guilt, and psychological health in former dementia caregivers. Implications for future research and practice include: further exploratory studies of associations between caregiver characteristics and post-caregiving health, and increasing health care providers’ awareness about risk factors for poor psychological health in this population.