| In society today, strokes occur regardless of age. It is becoming commonplace for adults of all ages to experience cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) secondary to stressful, unhealthy lifestyles or preexisting medical condition(s). Impairments resulting from stroke can vary in severity and are often inclusive of but not limited to language difficulty, decreased or loss of motor function (contralateral to the CVA), and/or changes in baseline cognitive functioning. More specific cognitive deficits affect memory, attention and other complex cognitive processes.; These cognitive impairments can often result in a disruption of the patient's ability to continue with their occupation and daily activities, including personal hygiene. Hence, the patient may lose their occupational status in addition to requiring assistance with activities of daily living. With the sparsity of financial resources available to subsidize long-term care, family members or significant others become caregivers for these patients on top of their daily pre-existing responsibilities. As a result, caregivers often report a great deal of psychological distress, in particular, depression and anxiety.; Past literature supports the idea that the psychological wellness of the caregiver is vital to the care and well being of the stroke patient. The current study examined the relationship of caregiver problem solving skills, care recipient disability, and caregiver distress. Primary analyses revealed that problem solving ability is predictive of negative affect. Furthermore, problem solving ability was also found to be a moderator between disability and caregiver depression. The results of secondary analyses isolated positive and negative problem orientation as well as avoidant problem solving style as highly predictive of caregiver distress. Highly significant interaction effects were also identified between these same problem solving components and the level of the care recipient's disability in predicting distress. The results of the current research suggest that caregivers who may be at risk for high levels of distress can be identified by their problem solving styles. Early identification of these "at risk" individuals may allow for the provision of interventions that may ease their caregiving distress and thus result in better psychological health. |
