Abstract

Caregivers of individual's with dementia are usually older spouses or middle aged children who provide long-term care in the home. Researchers have examined variables associated with poor adjustment in bereaved caregivers which include high levels of pre-death depression, high levels of caregiver burden, feeling unprepared for the death, and providing care for a cognitively impaired person. However, relatively little is known about variables that might predict positive adjustment in caregivers after the death of a family member with dementia. The meaning reconstruction theory of bereavement was used as the conceptual framework for this study which explored the relationship between pre-death personal growth and post-death benefit finding in 66 bereaved spouse and adult child caregivers of individuals with dementia. Relationships between the length of time since the death and benefit finding after the death were examined. The role of pre-death mental health on bereavement adjustment was also explored. Mental health was defined as adaptive psychological functioning as evidenced by low levels of depression, grief, and high levels of positive states of mind.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 3441991; ProQuest document ID: 851280692. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Melissa M. Romero, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CNE

Sigma Membership

Xi Sigma

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Descriptive/Correlational

Research Approach

Quantitative Research

Keywords:

Bereavement, Family Caregivers, Pre-Death Personal Growth, Post Death Grief

Advisor

Carol Ott

Second Advisor

Christine Kovach

Third Advisor

Sheryl Kelber

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Degree Year

2010

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2023-07-28

Full Text of Presentation

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