The Relationship Of Family Function,Coping Strategies And Posttraumatic Growth In Family Caregivers Of People With Dementia

Objective:The study aimed to investigate the level of family function,coping strategies and posttraumatic growth among family caregivers of people with dementia.To explore the influencing factor of posttraumatic growth.To analysis relationship of family function,coping strategies and posttraumatic growth.Using the structural equation model to explore the relationship among family function,coping strategies and posttraumatic growth.We also propose suggestions and strategies to improve the posttraumatic growth of caregivers of people with dementia.Methods:A total of 124 family caregivers of PwD from the memory clinic of a large tertiary hospital in China were investigated from July to October 2017.The family function,posttraumatic growth and coping strategies of family caregivers of PwD were measured by Family Apgar Index,Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire.The Epidata software was used to set up the database,and SPSS 23.0 and Amos 24.0 were used for data analysis.The measurement data is represented by mean and standard deviation.The correlation of family function,coping strategies and posttraumatic growth was analyzed by Spearman.The relationship between demographic data and posttraumatic growth was analyzed by t-test,variance analysis and multiple stepwise regression analysis.The relationship of family function,coping strategies and posttraumatic growth is analyzed by structural equation model.Results:1.The average score of posttraumatic growth in caregivers of people with dementia was(58.9±7.86),the influencing factors were include caregiver gender(?=-0.34,p<0.001),relationship with patient(?= 0.29,p<0.001),the difficulty of balance financial income and expenditure in the past month(?=-0.20,p<0.01)and the severity of disease of PwD(?=0.42,p<0.42)were statistically significant predictors of posttraumatic growth.2.The score of family function,positive coping and negative coping is(8.8±1.40),(28.8±3.01)and(20.7±3.00).3.Family function have a positive effect on positive coping strategies(r=0.43,p<0.01)and posttraumatic growth(r=0.47,p<0.01),meanwhile,positive coping strategies promoted the generation of posttraumatic growth(r=0.26,p<0.01).4.The positive coping strategies have a complete mediating effect on the relationship between family function and posttraumatic growth(?=0.49,p<0.001).5.The fit indices of the structure equation model of this study were: CMIN/DF=1.040,GFI=0.924,AGFI=0.890,NFI=0.851,IFI=0.993,CFI=0.993,TLI=0.991,RMSEA=0.018? Conclusion:Caregivers of PwD experience a certain degree of posttraumatic growth.They have a higher level of posttraumatic growth if they are female,non-spouse,unable to balance financial income and expenditure in the past month,and the care recipients are severe dementia;Family function,posttraumatic growth and positive coping strategies have positive correlation with each other;Positive coping strategies is one of the important mediating factors of the process of family function affects posttraumatic growth.Researchers can establish a model of posttraumatic growth of family caregivers of PwD,and explore relevant mechanisms.Attention should be paid to measure family function of the family caregivers of PwD,provide personalized guidance to caregivers' positive coping strategies,and thereby promoting a higher level of posttraumatic growth.