Personal values profiles in dementia family caregivers: their association with ambivalent feelings and anxious and depressive symptoms

Abstract

Objective

Culture-related variables, such as personal values, have been suggested as important in stress processes, such as family caregiving of people with dementia. Personal values may be categorized into two dimensions: family and own personal values. Drawing upon the Sociocultural Stress and Coping model, the objective of this study is to analyze differences between caregivers depending on their values profiles.

Method

Participants were 333 family caregivers of a spouse or a parent with dementia. Caregivers chose their two most important values, apart from caregiving, from a list of eight family-related and non-family-related values (own values). Therefore, three values profiles were possible: Family-values profile (FVP: the two values are family related), Mixed-values profile (MVP: one family related value and one own value), and Own-values profile (OVP: two own values were selected). In addition to values, sociodemographic variables, commitment and satisfaction with caregiving value and with chosen values, ambivalent feelings, and anxiety and depression symptomatology were assessed. ANOVA analyses were conducted.

Results

The analyses suggest that caregivers in the FVP had lower levels of anxiety and ambivalent feelings and a higher commitment to and satisfaction with their chosen values than the other profiles. No differences were found for commitment and satisfaction with the caregiving value.

Conclusion

Caregivers’ value profiles seem to play an important role in the effects of stress over psychological health. Possible explanations of these effects about potential role conflicts and a higher commitment to values are discussed.

Keywords:

• Ambivalence
• anxiety
• dementia caregiving
• depression
• personal values

Acknowledgements

We thank all the caregivers for their participation in the study and also the following centers for collaborating with us in the project: Hospital Gregorio Marañón, Centro de Especialidades Periférico Hermanos Sangro, Fundación CIEN, Fundación Maria Wolff, Centro de Salud General Ricardos, Centro de Salud García Noblejas, Centro de Salud Benita de Ávila, and Centro de Salud Vicente.

Disclosure of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The preparation of this paper was supported in part by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grants nos. PSI2012-31239, PSI2015-65152-C2-1-R and PSI2015-65152-C2-2-R), and by Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid, through a pre-doctoral scholarship for the first author of this work. Samara Barrero was supported by an FPU grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport.