Wylie MJ, Kim K, Liu Y, Zarit SH. Taking a Break: Daily Respite Effects of Adult Day Services as Objective and Subjective Time Away From Caregiving.
Gerontologist 2020;
61:1231-1240. [PMID:
33416085 DOI:
10.1093/geront/gnaa178]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Adult day services (ADS) can provide emotional and physical relief for caregivers of persons with dementia. While prior studies conceptualized ADS use at the aggregate level as a dichotomous construct, little is known about objective and subjective respite as distinct constructs. This study investigated how objective and subjective breaks from caregiving were associated with caregivers' daily emotional well-being.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Family caregivers (N = 173) whose relatives were using ADS at least twice a week participated in daily interviews over 8 consecutive days (day N = 1,359). Participants provided information on daily respite hours and daily affect. They also reported perceived frequency of breaks from caregiving responsibilities and primary and secondary caregiving stressors (i.e., overload and work conflict). Multilevel models were used to examine the research questions.
RESULTS
On average, caregivers reported 7.12 respite hours on ADS days and 1.74 respite hours on non-ADS days. Having more objective respite was associated with higher positive affect, whereas more subjective respite was associated with lower negative affect, after controlling for ADS use and other covariates. Further, caregivers with greater work conflict experienced more benefits to their positive affect as a result of objective respite.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Objective and subjective respite are unique aspects of caregiving that may have varying impact on caregivers. Respite may be especially beneficial for caregivers experiencing conflict between work and caregiving.
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