The psychosocial well-being of caregivers participating in an intergenerational community-based dementia choir

• Main Author: Cervantes Navarrete, Matilde
• Other Authors: Sheets, Debra J.
• Format: Others
• Language: English; en
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: dementia; caregivers; arts-based intervention; choir intervention; psychosocial well-being; community-based choir
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/12507

Compared to other kinds of caregivers, caregivers of persons living with dementia (PwD) are at higher risk of experiencing social isolation, emotional distress, and depressive symptoms which can adversely affect their psychosocial well-being. This study uses longitudinal data and multilevel modeling to explore trajectories of change over the course of a choir intervention in affect, social engagement, and caregiver distress. A multilevel coupled model of change was employed to examine two time-varying associations within-person and between-persons: (1) the association between social activities and affect, and (2) the association between caregiver distress and affect. The social activities coupling model (between-persons) found that increasing engagement in social activities was significantly associated with an increase in positive affect. The caregiver distress coupling model (within-person) found that higher levels of caregiver distress were significantly associated with decreases in positive affect. The caregiver distress coupling model (between-persons) found that higher levels of caregiver distress were significantly associated with increases in negative affect. The choir intervention may have a positive impact on caregiver psychosocial well-being but there are many factors to consider (i.e., dementia trajectory) that influence psychosocial well-being. This study advances our understanding of the impact of an arts-based intervention (i.e., community-based choir) as a source of support for caregivers of PwD. Findings can inform efforts to develop community art-based programs to support family caregivers. === Graduate === 2021-12-10