Journal of Gerontology · 1992 · 201 citations · 0 references
Social SciencesSocial PsychologyBereavement CareDementiaFamily StudiesCaregiver StressCaregivingDementia CaregivingFamily RelationshipsInterpersonal ViolenceViolenceAggression In DementiaCare Recipient AggressionCaregiving DemandsDementia Caregiver StressFamily Violence Against Older AdultsInformal CaregiversInterpersonal StressorsWitnessing Family Violence
Four factors—caregiving demands, interactional stressors, caregiver characteristics, and caregiving context—are hypothesized to explain violent feelings and violent behaviors among family caregivers of dementia patients. The authors present a conceptual framework to explain violent feelings and violent behaviors among family caregivers of dementia patients. The framework is based on analyses of quantitative and qualitative data from 236 family caregivers, identifying factors such as physical aggression by the care recipient, disruptive behaviors, and shared living situations that predict violent feelings. The analyses found that violent feelings were predicted by the care recipient’s physical aggression, disruptive behaviors, and shared living situations, while actual violence was associated with structural relationship, older caregiver age, spousal status, and reciprocal violence from the care recipient.
We present a conceptual framework for understanding two distinct but related phenomena: violent feelings (i.e., the fear of becoming violent) and violent behaviors by family caregivers toward relatives with dementia. Based on both the literature on family caregiving and on family violence, four factors are hypothesized to explain these two dimensions of violence: caregiving demands, interactional stressors, caregiver characteristics, and caregiving context. Analyses of quantitative and qualitative data on 236 family caregivers to dementia victims revealed several characteristics that were predictive of violent feelings on the part of caregivers, including physical aggression by the care recipient, disruptive behaviors, and a shared living situation. Structural relationship and caregiver's age were found to be related to actual violence; spouses were more likely to engage in violence than other relatives, as were older individuals. In addition, violence by the care recipient was positively related to caregiver violence