Background: There is a lack of research exploring the influence of the role implementation process of family caregivers of older people with dementia in Taiwan.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive ability on positive and negative caregiving outcomes of several role implementation variables, including mutuality, preparedness, and balance between competing needs.
Methods: A cross-sectional, correlational study design was used. Data were collected from family caregivers of patients with dementia from neurological clinics at a medical center and at local hospitals through a take-home mail survey. One hundred seventy-six family caregivers of patients with dementia completed the Family Caregiving Inventory.
Results: After controlling for age and gender of the family caregiver and the cognitive function of the elderly patients, mutuality was found to associate negatively with role strain and depressive symptoms and positively with rewards and mental health. Higher preparedness was associated with higher caregiving rewards and better mental health. Less balance was associated with more severe depressive symptoms and poorer mental health.
Conclusions/implications for practice: Greater attention, support, and consultation should be directed at caregivers with low mutuality, less preparedness, and less balance between competing needs. Specifically, family caregivers with low mutuality are at risk of higher role strain and more depressive symptoms. Those in such a category should be identified and should receive intervention as early as possible. Interventions to enhance family caregiver preparedness should be developed to increase caregiving rewards and to improve caregiver mental health.