Burden and anticipatory grief in caregivers of family members with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to analyze the different factors that intervene in the task of caring for relatives of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. A first objective focused on assessing the relation between burden and anticipatory grief, considering the possibility of social support and the risk of psychopathology. A second objective aimed to examine whether caregiver burden modulates the relationships between anticipatory grief and psychopathology. A cross-sectional design was employed. Methods The sample consists of 129 participants who care for a family member with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. A protocol based on a battery of tests has been applied and a mediation analysis was carried out. Results The results show a positive relationship between burden and anticipatory grief. Social support could have an indirect relationship with anticipatory grief, based on its effect on the level of psychopathology and caregiver burden. Finally, a modulation model reflects that the relationship between anticipatory grief and psychopathology is strong, the latter having a greater effect as a result variable than as a risk variable. However, it seems that the relationship between grief and psychopathology is better explained directly than not through the modulating effect of the caregiver burden. Significance of results The results obtained encourage us to think that an approach focused on intervening in the anticipatory grief may be an opportunity to reduce or buffer other caregiving outcomes, especially those related to the perception of caregiver burden and psychopathology.