Sense of coherence, coping and overwhelm in relatives of aged people with chronic diseases

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the relationship between sense of coherence, coping strategies, and overwhelm in relative caregivers of elder people with chronic diseases. The instrument used was the "Family Coping Study" questionnaire, created by Franz Baro. The sample was made up of 74 Peruvians who take care of their aged relatives with dementia (44 cases) and other chronic diseases (30 cases). The reliability of the scales was verified using Cronbach's Alpha and the item-test consistency. Results showed a high reliability. Median and the standard deviation of the studied variables were determined, as well as the Pearson correlation analysis. The main interest of this research was to establish if there's a relationship between the sense of coherence of relative caregivers of elder people with chronic diseases and cope of stressing situations like taking care of these patients. The results showed a significant inverse relationship between "sense of coherence" and "overwhelm" variables.