Cited by 133Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNursing care and researchFamily Caregiving in Mental Illness

Coping Strategies among Caregivers of People with Alzheimer Disease: A Systematic Review

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Monteiro, Alexandre Magno Frota, Santos, Raquel Luiza, Kimura, Nathália, Baptista, Maria Alice Tourinho, Dourado, Marcia Cristina Nascimento·2018·Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Caregivers of people with Alzheimer disease (PwAD) report significant stress, burden and depression compared to caregivers of people with other dementias, especially when neuropsychiatric symptoms are prominent. Adequate coping strategies can modify the impact of stressful situations and increase the caregivers' quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the different coping strategies used by caregivers of PwAD to manage neuropsychiatric symptoms. METHOD: We carried out electronic searches using MEDLINE (PubMed), SciELO, Web of Knowledge Cross Search (Thomson Scientific/ISI Web Services) and PsycINFO databases to select studies on coping in PwAD caregivers published from January 2005 to July 2017. The search terms were coping, caregivers, strategy, onset, adaptation, family, behavior, dementia and Alzheimer. The studies were organized in three categories: problem-focused, emotion-focused and dysfunctional coping strategies. RESULTS: We found 2,277 articles. After application of exclusion criteria and exclusion of redundant references, 24 articles were analyzed. Emotion-focused coping was the most commonly used strategy among PwAD caregivers. The use of this strategy associated with religion and spirituality may help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. Problem-focused coping strategies were mostly used with active coping interventions. Problem-solving coping may have buffered the impact of acute psychological stressors on procoagulant activity. Dysfunctional coping strategies were associated with increase of caregiver burden. CONCLUSION: The evaluated studies showed that the use and development of coping strategies may have ameliorated the depressive symptoms, anxiety and burden of caregivers. However, longitudinal studies are still needed that clearly describe the type of coping strategy used in relation to the presented results.

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  • Problem-focused coping strategies, social-emotional support coping strategies, and acceptance are significantly associated with a lower level of burden, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among dementia caregivers.

    “It is well established that problem-focused coping strategies, social-emotional support coping strategies, and acceptance are significantly associated with a lower level of burden, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among dementia caregivers [59,60,61,62].”

    From Relationship of Psychological Flexibility and Mindfulness to Caregiver Burden, and Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Caregivers of People with Dementia (2023) · cites this paper as [62]

    The Emotion-focused coping strategies section reports reductions in caregiver anxiety and depression and effects on burden; it also links problem-focused strategies to improvements in all three outcomes. It lists acceptance and emotional support as emotion-focused strategies, but does not establish that each is significantly associated with lower burden, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. American Psychiatry Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington: American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
  2. Zaumseil M, Schwarz S. Understandings of coping: A critical review of coping theories for disaster contexts. In: Zaumseil M, Schwarz S, von Vacano M. Cultural psychology of coping with disasters: the case of an earthquake in Java, Indonesia. New York: Springer-Verlag; 2014. p. 45-54.
  3. Bruvik F, Ranhoff AH, Ulstein I, Engedal K. The effect of psychosocial support intervention on depression in PwAD and their family caregivers: an assessor-blinded RCT. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord Extra. 2013;3:386-97.

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Authors
Monteiro, A. M. F., Santos, R. L., Kimura, N., Baptista, M. A. T., & Dourado, M. C. N.
Affiliations
  • Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
  • Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Venue
Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Published
2018-09
Volume
40
Issue
3
Pages
258-268
ISSN
  • 2237-6089 (ISSN-L)
  • 2238-0019
OpenAlex
W2895594710
Cited by
133
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 3
FWCI
1.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Americanae (AECID Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family Caregiving in Mental Illness
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, caregivers, coping strategies, neuropsychiatric symptoms, emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, dysfunctional coping, caregiver burden, depression, anxiety, religion and spirituality, dementia caregiving
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Alzheimer Disease, Humans, Caregivers

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