What You Believe Can Affect How You Feel: Anger Among Caregivers of Elderly People With Dementia

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Anger has been recognized as a commonly experienced emotion among caregivers of elderly people with dementia. While several cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based intervening methods have been developed, limited research has systematically examined the associations between dementia-related cognition and caregiving anger. Currently, we focused on three representative and well-studied cognitive constructs, person-centered attitude (PCA), dementia representation (DR), and empathy, exploring how they related to caregiving anger.Methods & Results: In total, 327 caregivers (239 female) participated in the study and finished online questionnaires. Multi-variable regression analyzes showed that PCA (βPCA = −0.22**) and empathy (βempathy = −0.18**) could negatively predict caregiving anger. However, all DR dimensions had no influence on caregiving anger except coherence (βcoherence = −0.24**) in the current study.Conclusion: Generally, lower caregiving anger was associated with: (1) being more empathic; (2) having a person-centered attitude; and (3) having a comprehensive understanding of dementia. The results of this study provide detailed suggestions for the development of anger management programs for caregivers of people with dementia.