Background: This study aims to examine whether coping strategies employed by caregivers are related to distinct symptoms of patients with dementia and to investigate the associations between burden and coping among caregivers of patients with dementia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. A total of 57 caregivers of patients with dementia were enrolled. Coping strategies were assessed using the Ways of Coping Checklist, and burden was assessed using the Chinese version of Caregiver Burden Inventory. Correlations between coping and patients' behavior or memory problems were examined. Severities of behavior and memory problems were adjusted to examine the correlations between caregiver burden and coping strategies.
Results: The patients' disruptive behavior problems were associated with avoidance, and depression problems were associated with avoidance and wishful thinking. After adjusting for severity of behavior problems, coping strategies using avoidance were positively correlated with caregiver burden.
Conclusions: Emotion-focused coping strategies are a marker of caregiver burden.
Keywords: behavior problems; caregiver burden; coping strategy; dementia.
© The Author(s) 2013.