Does Type of Disease Matter? Gender Differences Among Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Spouse Caregivers
作者:Karen Hooker、Margaret Manoogian-O'Dell、Deborah J. Monahan、Leslie D. Frazier、Kim Shifren
DOI:10.1093/geront/40.5.568
日期:2000.10.1
Purpose of study: Mental health outcomes are widely reported among spouse caregivers, with wives generally faring worse than husbands. We hypothesized that gender differences would not be as strong in a cognitively intact group because caring for cognitively intact spouses may involve less severe reciprocity losses. We also examined gender differences in coping strategies within each group. Design and method: 175 spouse caregivers for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD; n = 88) and Parkinson's disease (PD; n = 87) were interviewed. Participants completed perceived stress (PSS), depression (CES-D), state anxiety (STAI, Form Y), and coping strategies (WCCL-R) measures. Results:Wives in the AD group reported significantly worse mental health outcomes than husbands, while wives and husbands in the PD group showed no differences. AD caregiving wives were less likely than husbands to use problem-focused coping strategies. There were no significant gender differences in either group for social support or emotion-focused coping. Implications:Loss of reciprocity in marital relationships may affect women more negatively than men. Future studies that address underlying mechanisms of gender differences and focus on similar caregiving situations and contexts deserve attention.
研究目的:配偶照护者在心理健康方面面临的问题已被广泛报道,但往往妻子比丈夫受到的影响更大。我们假设在认知功能完好的照护者中,性别差异不会那么强烈,因为照护认知完好的配偶可能涉及较少的互惠性损失。我们还探讨了每个组别中性别在应对策略上的差异。设计和方法:对175名阿尔茨海默病(AD,n=88)和帕金森病(PD,n=87)患者的配偶照护者进行了访谈。参与者完成了感知压力(PSS)、抑郁(CES-D)、状态焦虑(STAI,Y型)和应对策略(WCCL-R)的测量。结果:AD组的妻子报告了比丈夫更差的心理健康结果,而PD组的妻子和丈夫之间没有差异。AD照护妻子比丈夫更不可能使用问题焦点应对策略。在社交支持或情绪焦点应对方面,两个组别均未发现显著的性别差异。启示:婚姻关系中的互惠性损失可能对女性的负面影响大于男性。未来研究应关注性别差异的潜在机制,并聚焦于类似照护情境和背景的探讨。