The influence of feeling positive about helping among dementia caregivers in New Zealand

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the unique contribution of positive attitudes about helping others in predicting emotional functioning among a sample of dementia caregivers. Participants were 158 older ( M = 68 years) caregivers residing in New Zealand. Participants completed surveys consisting of the Revised Ways of Coping Checklist, the Helping Attitudes Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and a tailored measure of demographic and caregiver contextual variables. Results indicated that helping attitudes had the largest correlation with positive affect ( r = .31). Regression analyses also indicated that helping attitudes predicted positive affect with the other relevant demographic and coping variables controlled for statistically. This study indicates that having a positive attitude towards helping others may be an important determinant of positive emotional functioning among dementia caregivers and may help to offset the oft-cited negative consequences of caregiving. The implications for caregiver selection and caregiver intervention strategies are discussed.