Congruence of depressive symptom appraisal between persons with stroke and their caregivers

Objectives: To determine congruence of depressive symptom appraisal between persons with stroke and their caregivers and the influence of caregiver and clinical characteristics of stroke recovery on the congruence of symptom appraisal. Design: Cross-sectional using baseline data from a multisite caregiving study. Participants: 130 caregiver-person with stroke dyads. Main Outcome Measures: Five items from the Stroke Impact Mood subscale (alpha = .72) and 6 items from caregivers' appraisals of depressive symptoms of persons with stroke on the Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (alpha = .61) were used to compare caregiver and person with stroke depressive symptom appraisal. Results: Most dyads were incongruent in their appraisals of depressive symptoms in the person with stroke. Dyads were congruent primarily when they perceived that the person with stroke had an absence of depressive symptoms. Caregiver gender, caregiver depressive symptoms, person with stroke antidepressant use, and time since stroke were important factors influencing congruence. Conclusion: Specific information regarding depressive symptoms after stroke should be targeted to both persons with stroke and their family caregivers.