Date of Award

5-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Allard, Eric

Second Advisor

Yaroslavsky, Ilya

Third Advisor

Reardon, Kathleen

Abstract

The negative outcomes for a caregiver for a person with dementia (PWD), such as burden and depression, are well-studied and established. However, the individual differences that may buffer against negative outcomes are still to be explored. Attachment orientation and emotion regulatory abilities have been shown to influence health and well-being outcomes within this population. Secure attachment is considered a protective factor in the development of psychopathology and physical health outcomes. Emotion regulation is an important part of a caregiver’s daily functioning for managing challenging care tasks. With a theoretical model of caregiving as the foreground of this work, these variables were analyzed as potential predictors and mediators of caregiver well-being. For the present study, a sample of caregivers for PWDs completed an online self-report survey to assess their attachment style, emotion regulation abilities, as well as levels of depression, anxiety, and burden. Significant correlations were found across all of the hypothesized relationships, such that secure attachment and emotion regulation were negatively related to all outcome variables. A positive relationship was also found between secure attachment and caregiver emotion regulation abilities. Emotion regulation was also found to be a significant mediator of secure attachment and the outcome variables of depression and anxiety, but not for burden. These results may help to identify potential buffers against the stress of dementia caregiving, as well as inform further intervention development for caregivers.

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