Cross-cultural analysis of the role of ambivalent feelings for understanding caregivers’ depressive symptoms

Abstract

Objectives Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are considered to cause ambivalent feelings in caregivers that may contribute to understanding their depressive symptoms. Transnational research is needed in order to increase our knowledge about the cross-cultural equivalence of theoretical models to understand caregivers’ mental health. The aim of this study was to cross-culturally analyze the association between BPSD, ambivalent feelings and depressive symptoms in two samples of family caregivers of people with dementia from Spain and the UK. Methods Participants in this study were 432 caregivers who completed measures of BPSD, ambivalent feelings and depressive symptoms. The association between the assessed variables was tested through path-analysis, with differences between countries tested through multigroup analysis. Results The results suggest that the influence of BPSD on caregivers’ depressive symptoms is indirect, through ambivalent feelings. The observed associations were equivalent between countries and explained a significant percentage of the variance of depressive symptoms. Conclusion The findings of this study provide, for the first time, evidence of equivalent cross-cultural paths analyzing the role of ambivalent feelings for understanding caregivers’ depressive symptoms. The practical implications of these results are discussed.