Neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver relationship quality for older Mexican Americans

Abstract

Objectives

Caregivers play a key role in supporting older Mexican Americans, who are less likely to enter nursing facilities than other racial/ethnic groups in the US. However, there is little research on how Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) affect relationship quality between caregivers and care recipients.

Method

Using data from the 2015 wave of the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) (n = 416) study of older (age 85+) Mexican Americans, we examined relationship quality and NPS with ordered logistic regression. Relationship quality was measured using positive (enjoyment, appreciation) and negative (nerves, argue) assessments. NPS were categorized into hyperactivity, affective, and psychosis symptoms.

Results

Hyperactivity symptoms were associated with appreciation, arguing, and nerves. Psychosis symptoms were associated with arguing and nerves. Spousal caregivers were more likely to report arguing and nerves and less likely to report feeling appreciated. Enjoyment assessments were not associated with NPS.

Conclusion

Relationship quality is related to behavioral changes in late life. Mexican American caregivers negatively evaluate their relationships, not in response to care tasks per se, but when the older person exhibits behavioral problems. The relationship between NPS and negative relationship assessments may be due to unanticipated behavior changes in late life and stigma around psychiatric symptomatology.

Keywords:

• Neuropsychiatric symptoms
• relationship quality
• hispanic
• caregiver
• H-EPESE
• USA

Acknowledgments

This manuscript used publicly available dataset and conducted secondary data analysis. So, there are no informed consent for the participants and no approval from the authors’ Institutional Review Board.

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/; https://www.caregiver.org/; https://www.alz.org/

Additional information

Funding

Phillip Cantu, PhD was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) under Award Numbers 5T32AG000270-21, P30AG059301, and R01 AG010939-25. María P. Aranda, PhD was supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) under Award Numbers U54AG063546, P30AG066530, and P30AG043073. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.