Spirituality, meaning making, and grief in Alzheimer's caregivers

Research has shown that most Alzheimer's sufferers are cared for by family members. These family caregivers often have many other responsibilities including jobs, school, and children of their own to care for. The high levels stress and the ongoing experiences of loss during a loved ones illness can result in unexpressed or latent grieving and can affect both the caregivers' emotional and physical wellbeing. It was hypothesized that both spiritual coping and positive meaning making can offset the effects of latent grieving and depressive symptoms.;A correlational analysis was performed with 64 adult children and spousal caregivers who were providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. Results revealed that those caregivers who displayed a greater ability to create positive provisional meaning in the caregiving role also showed greater levels of spiritual transcendence, spiritual coping behaviors and ultimate meaning making. These same caregivers also displayed lower levels of depression, feelings of loss and perceived burden in the caregiving role.;The expected, direct correlation between spiritual transcendence, depression and grief was not found, and the correlation between provisional meaning and these same measures was weak to moderate. However, the potential mediating effects between spiritual coping and meaning making found in this dissertation may inform future research in this area.