Resourcefulness in African American and Caucasian American Caregivers of Persons With Dementia: Associations With Perceived Burden, Depression, Anxiety, Positive Cognitions, and Psychological Well-Being

PurposeProviding care to persons with dementia can have negative effects on caregivers' physical and psychological well-being. This secondary analysis explored relationships among perceived burden, depression, anxiety, resourcefulness, and psychological well-being in 28 African American (AA) and 45 Caucasian American (CA) caregivers of persons with dementia. Design and MethodsDescriptive, cross-sectional design was used to examine the hypothesized relationships in a sample of 73 caregivers. FindingsCAs reported greater burden (t = -3.68, p < .001), more anxiety (t = -2.66, p < .01), depression (t = -2.21, p < .05), and hostility (t = -2.30, p < .05) than AAs. AAs reported higher scores than CAs on resourcefulness, positive cognitions, and psychological well-being. Practice ImplicationsThe study findings provided directions for the development of resourcefulness interventions to enhance the psychological well-being among dementia caregivers.