TY - JOUR
T1 - Anger and Depression Management
T2 - Psychoeducational Skill Training Interventions for Women Caregivers of a Relative With Dementia
AU - Coon, David W.
AU - Thompson, Larry
AU - Steffen, Ann
AU - Sorocco, Kristen
AU - Gallagher-Thompson, Dolores
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by Grant MH-43407 from the National Institute of Mental Health to Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, Principal Investigator. Address correspondence to Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, PhD, the Older Adult Center, Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 795 Willow Road, Mail code 182C/MP, Menlo Park, CA 94025. E-mail: dolorest@ stanford.edu 1Institute on Aging, San Francisco, CA. 2Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, Palo Alto, CA. 3Department of Psychology, University of Missouri—St. Louis. 4University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City. 5Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, and the Older Adult Center, Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Menlo Park, CA.
PY - 2003/10
Y1 - 2003/10
N2 - Purpose: This study examines the short-term impact of two theoretically based psychoeducational small group interventions with distressed caregivers, and it also examines the role of specific moderator and mediator variables on caregiver outcomes. Design and Methods: Female participants (N = 169) aged 50 and older who were caring for a community-dwelling relative with a dementing illness were randomly assigned to one of three treatment interventions: anger management, depression management, or a wait-list control group. These interventions took place over a 3- to 4-month period. The primary outcomes examined were anger or hostile mood, depressed mood, frequency of use of positive and negative coping strategies, and perceived caregiving self-efficacy. Results: Significant main effects in the expected direction were found for changes in most of these measures. Participants in both anger management and depression management groups had significant reductions in their levels of anger or hostility and depression from Time 1 to Time 2 in comparison to participants in the wait-list control group. Use of positive cognitive coping strategies increased in the anger management group only. Self-efficacy significantly increased for participants in both intervention groups, and it was also demonstrated to function as a mediator of intervention effects. Pretreatment levels of depressive symptoms and anger expression style (Anger Expression-Out) moderated the relative effects of the two interventions on mood and coping. Implications: These data are consistent with a growing body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of skills training, in small groups, to improve both the affective states and the type of coping strategies used by caregivers. In addition, this study underscores the need to evaluate key pretreatment variables in order to determine which form of treatment may be more compatible with caregiver characteristics and thus more likely to be beneficial to individuals.
AB - Purpose: This study examines the short-term impact of two theoretically based psychoeducational small group interventions with distressed caregivers, and it also examines the role of specific moderator and mediator variables on caregiver outcomes. Design and Methods: Female participants (N = 169) aged 50 and older who were caring for a community-dwelling relative with a dementing illness were randomly assigned to one of three treatment interventions: anger management, depression management, or a wait-list control group. These interventions took place over a 3- to 4-month period. The primary outcomes examined were anger or hostile mood, depressed mood, frequency of use of positive and negative coping strategies, and perceived caregiving self-efficacy. Results: Significant main effects in the expected direction were found for changes in most of these measures. Participants in both anger management and depression management groups had significant reductions in their levels of anger or hostility and depression from Time 1 to Time 2 in comparison to participants in the wait-list control group. Use of positive cognitive coping strategies increased in the anger management group only. Self-efficacy significantly increased for participants in both intervention groups, and it was also demonstrated to function as a mediator of intervention effects. Pretreatment levels of depressive symptoms and anger expression style (Anger Expression-Out) moderated the relative effects of the two interventions on mood and coping. Implications: These data are consistent with a growing body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of skills training, in small groups, to improve both the affective states and the type of coping strategies used by caregivers. In addition, this study underscores the need to evaluate key pretreatment variables in order to determine which form of treatment may be more compatible with caregiver characteristics and thus more likely to be beneficial to individuals.
KW - Alzheimer's disease
KW - Caregiving
KW - Cognitive behavioral interventions
KW - Older women
KW - Randomized clinical trials
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0142180994&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0142180994&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/geront/43.5.678
DO - 10.1093/geront/43.5.678
M3 - Article
C2 - 14570964
AN - SCOPUS:0142180994
SN - 0016-9013
VL - 43
SP - 678
EP - 689
JO - Gerontologist
JF - Gerontologist
IS - 5
ER -