Emotional Function, Negative Thoughts about the Pandemic, and Adaptability Skills among Dementia Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic
<b>Background</b>: It can be easily inferred that dementia caregivers were severely affected by the general home confinement, or ‘lockdown’, due to their caregiving roles. <b>Aim</b>: The aim of the current study is to investigate how the quarantine measures applied during th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/4/459 |
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| author | Evdokia Nikolaidou Marianna Tsatali Marina Eleftheriou Helen Wang Konstantina Karagiozi Petrina Margaritidou Magdalini Tsolaki |
| author_facet | Evdokia Nikolaidou Marianna Tsatali Marina Eleftheriou Helen Wang Konstantina Karagiozi Petrina Margaritidou Magdalini Tsolaki |
| author_sort | Evdokia Nikolaidou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background</b>: It can be easily inferred that dementia caregivers were severely affected by the general home confinement, or ‘lockdown’, due to their caregiving roles. <b>Aim</b>: The aim of the current study is to investigate how the quarantine measures applied during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the emotional function (specifically the emotional management, emotional experience, and stress symptoms) and the negative thoughts, as well as the adaptability skills, of Greek dementia caregivers. <b>Materials and</b><b>Methods</b>: In total, 303 participants (138 in the non-caregiving adults-control group; 165 in the dementia caregivers-experimental group) were recruited from the day centers of the Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD) from June 2020 to January 2021 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The caregiving population was split into group 1 (those who participated in support groups) and group 2 (those who did not participate in support groups). A self-reported questionnaire was created for research purposes and was digitally administered to participants via Google forms. <b>Results</b>: During the quarantine period, dementia caregivers had more difficulties in emotional management, especially in regards to stress symptoms, which was measured via the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), in comparison to the control group. In regards to the caregiving populations, caregivers from group 1 were more able to manage their emotions according to their self-reports, but had increased agony and loneliness. Moreover, statistical significance was found between emotional management, negative feelings, and stress symptoms in those from group 2 who self-reported that the PwD deteriorated. This evidence was not found in group 1. Finally, there were no differences in the means of negative thoughts about the pandemic, as well as in the adaptation skills, both in dementia caregivers and in the control group, according to their self-reports. <b>Discussion</b>: It seems that different emotional aspects were affected in the dementia caregivers’ population, and, therefore, future psychotherapeutic interventions should focus on those most severely affected by the restrictive measures imposed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:05:29Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:05:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-bf7e93e021044e6996888326784f0a1e2023-12-01T00:59:29ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252022-03-0112445910.3390/brainsci12040459Emotional Function, Negative Thoughts about the Pandemic, and Adaptability Skills among Dementia Caregivers during the COVID-19 PandemicEvdokia Nikolaidou0Marianna Tsatali1Marina Eleftheriou2Helen Wang3Konstantina Karagiozi4Petrina Margaritidou5Magdalini Tsolaki6Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), K. Karamanli 164, 54248 Thessaloniki, GreeceGreek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), K. Karamanli 164, 54248 Thessaloniki, GreeceGreek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), K. Karamanli 164, 54248 Thessaloniki, GreecePsychology Department, University of Princeton, Princeton, NJ 08540, USAGreek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), K. Karamanli 164, 54248 Thessaloniki, GreeceGreek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), K. Karamanli 164, 54248 Thessaloniki, GreeceGreek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), K. Karamanli 164, 54248 Thessaloniki, Greece<b>Background</b>: It can be easily inferred that dementia caregivers were severely affected by the general home confinement, or ‘lockdown’, due to their caregiving roles. <b>Aim</b>: The aim of the current study is to investigate how the quarantine measures applied during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the emotional function (specifically the emotional management, emotional experience, and stress symptoms) and the negative thoughts, as well as the adaptability skills, of Greek dementia caregivers. <b>Materials and</b><b>Methods</b>: In total, 303 participants (138 in the non-caregiving adults-control group; 165 in the dementia caregivers-experimental group) were recruited from the day centers of the Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD) from June 2020 to January 2021 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The caregiving population was split into group 1 (those who participated in support groups) and group 2 (those who did not participate in support groups). A self-reported questionnaire was created for research purposes and was digitally administered to participants via Google forms. <b>Results</b>: During the quarantine period, dementia caregivers had more difficulties in emotional management, especially in regards to stress symptoms, which was measured via the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), in comparison to the control group. In regards to the caregiving populations, caregivers from group 1 were more able to manage their emotions according to their self-reports, but had increased agony and loneliness. Moreover, statistical significance was found between emotional management, negative feelings, and stress symptoms in those from group 2 who self-reported that the PwD deteriorated. This evidence was not found in group 1. Finally, there were no differences in the means of negative thoughts about the pandemic, as well as in the adaptation skills, both in dementia caregivers and in the control group, according to their self-reports. <b>Discussion</b>: It seems that different emotional aspects were affected in the dementia caregivers’ population, and, therefore, future psychotherapeutic interventions should focus on those most severely affected by the restrictive measures imposed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/4/459adaptability skillsCoronavirus-19 pandemicdementia caregiversemotional management |
| spellingShingle | Evdokia Nikolaidou Marianna Tsatali Marina Eleftheriou Helen Wang Konstantina Karagiozi Petrina Margaritidou Magdalini Tsolaki Emotional Function, Negative Thoughts about the Pandemic, and Adaptability Skills among Dementia Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic Brain Sciences adaptability skills Coronavirus-19 pandemic dementia caregivers emotional management |
| title | Emotional Function, Negative Thoughts about the Pandemic, and Adaptability Skills among Dementia Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | Emotional Function, Negative Thoughts about the Pandemic, and Adaptability Skills among Dementia Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Emotional Function, Negative Thoughts about the Pandemic, and Adaptability Skills among Dementia Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emotional Function, Negative Thoughts about the Pandemic, and Adaptability Skills among Dementia Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | Emotional Function, Negative Thoughts about the Pandemic, and Adaptability Skills among Dementia Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | emotional function negative thoughts about the pandemic and adaptability skills among dementia caregivers during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | adaptability skills Coronavirus-19 pandemic dementia caregivers emotional management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/4/459 |
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