Abstract
Background: The concern in the scientific community for the study of people with dementia and their families is comprehensible, especially the importance of knowing the effects that caring for the patient has on their family dynamic, paying special attention to the main caregiver. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship of resilience and emotional intelligence with functional performance in the main caregivers of people with dementia in Spain according to the phase of the disease. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study was carried out. A total of 144 primary family caregivers of patients with dementia in Spain were included in the study. The following variables were measured: sociodemographic, psychosocial, and occupational, as well as resilience and emotional intelligence. Results: The caregivers obtained a low moderate resilience (mean = 64.01 ± 14.5), an emotional intelligence bordering between moderate and high (mean = 78.48 ± 14.82), and a 61.8% self-care categorized as somewhat and quite a bit. The presence of higher levels of resilience in family caregivers of people with dementia were positively related to the time spent on self-care (r = 0.227; p = 0.033) and leisure (r = 0.262; p = 0.014), especially in the moderate phase of the disease, while in the severe phase, this relationship appeared with productivity (r = 0.355; p = 0.034). The higher levels of emotional intelligence were positively related to a greater time dedicated to self-care (r = 0.233, p = 0.005), as well as the data observed in the moderate and severe phase (r = 0.214; p = 0.046 and r = 0.398; p = 0.016 respectively). Conclusions: The primary caregivers of relatives with dementia who have higher levels of resilience and emotional intelligence spend more time on self-care and leisure activities, especially in the moderate phase of the disease.
Highlights
The impact of dementia goes far beyond individual effects at the cognitive, behavioral, physical, and functional level of the person who suffers from it
The overload that may affect the main caregiver is motivated by the presence of certain primary stressors and secondary, causing symptoms related to changes in health, work, economy, and free time [6] that translate into difficulties for physical, psychosocial, and family functioning [7,8,9]
High levels of resilience appear to be related to personal growth [31], with the implementation of skills and competencies of work commitment [49,52,54,55], as well as with a greater capacity for self-care [41,52] and the more benign perception of aspects derived from care [47]
Summary
The impact of dementia goes far beyond individual effects at the cognitive, behavioral, physical, and functional level of the person who suffers from it. It is imperative to understand the structural changes to which they are subjected given the existing responsibilities that are carried out under the act of caring In this regard, we can define the main caregiver as “that person who cares for the patient in a manner that is seeking to meet physical, psychological, affective, social and functional needs” [4,5,6]. The presence of higher levels of resilience in family caregivers of people with dementia were positively related to the time spent on self-care (r = 0.227; p = 0.033) and leisure (r = 0.262; p = 0.014), especially in the moderate phase of the disease, while in the severe phase, this relationship appeared with productivity (r = 0.355; p = 0.034). Conclusions: The primary caregivers of relatives with dementia who have higher levels of resilience and emotional intelligence spend more time on self-care and leisure activities, especially in the moderate phase of the disease
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