Behavioral Intervention for Reducing Resistance in Care Recipients to Attending Adult Day Care Centers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyze the efficacy of an individualized intervention that trains caregivers of family members with dementia in behavioral skills to assess and modify their relative’s resistance to attending an adult day care center (ADC). Three caregivers were trained in assessment techniques for registering the behaviors related to resistance to attending the ADC, behavioral techniques for modifying antecedents and consequences of the behaviors, and implementation of those techniques. The frequency of behaviors was recorded every day. Caregivers’ depressive symptomatology and anxiety, and occurrence of care recipients’ behavioral problems related to attending the ADC, were assessed. After the intervention, frequency of behavioral problems decreased for all people with dementia, anxiety decreased for two caregivers, and depression decreased clinically for two caregivers. Behavior modification appears to be effective for helping caregivers to manage disruptive behaviors by care recipients associated with attending an ADC.