Self-Efficacy , Affect, and Seeking Support Between Caregivers of Dementia and Non-Dementia Patients

Abstract

The present study sought to determine if caregivers' seeking support was related to the level of affect and self-efficacy concerning caring for the terminally ill individual. Important to the present study was the results suggesting that female caregiveis display an overall higher level of negative affect and that this negative affect was perceived as more intense than expressed by the male counterpart. The results imply that caregivers of dementia patients, in comparison to caregivers of nondementia family members, express lower levels of affect and self-efficacy, and that early in the caregiving process seek. more support than they receive. These findings suggest that on the average, dementing illnesses have a more burdensome emotional impact on the caregiver, but that adaptive processes improve the emotional outlook over time.