Relational Investments, Stress Appraisals, and Calibration: Examining the Wellbeing and Resilience of Dementia Family Caregivers
dc.contributor.advisor | Segrin, Chris | |
dc.contributor.author | Cooper, R. Amanda | |
dc.creator | Cooper, R. Amanda | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-08-30T06:31:52Z | |
dc.date.available | 2023-08-30T06:31:52Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2023 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Cooper, R. Amanda. (2023). Relational Investments, Stress Appraisals, and Calibration: Examining the Wellbeing and Resilience of Dementia Family Caregivers (Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA). | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10150/669678 | |
dc.description.abstract | This dissertation is comprised of two studies investigating different aspects of dementia caregiver resilience. Study 1 draws on theorizing from the theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL) and the investment model to assess the influence of pre-onset relational investments on caregivers’ individual and relational wellbeing. To account for competing theorizing about the impacts of pre-onset relational investments on caregiver wellbeing, this study also examines the role of two mediating mechanisms (relational deprivation and ongoing relationship maintenance) in explaining the associations between pre-onset relational investments and caregiver wellbeing. Using survey data from 454 dementia family caregivers, Study 1 revealed that relational investments were positively related with individual and relational health outcomes, generally supporting TRRL theorizing. Framed by the TRRL, Study 2 examines the process of resilience enacted by dementia caregivers including the appraisals caregivers make of dementia as a stressor and the calibration caregivers enact to manage the relational challenges of dementia. Using in-depth interviews with 26 dementia family caregivers, the analysis revealed three appraisals of dementia (dementia is a balancing act, dementia is all-consuming, and dementia is loss), and a process of calibration that occurred as caregivers acknowledged dementia as an actor in the relationship and adapted their relational and caregiving approaches accordingly. These two studies are presented with a general introduction focused on individual and relational wellbeing and resilience in dementia caregiving and with a general discussion examining conclusions of the two studies together. | |
dc.language.iso | en | |
dc.publisher | The University of Arizona. | |
dc.rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. | |
dc.rights.uri | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | |
dc.subject | caregiver | |
dc.subject | dementia | |
dc.subject | Investment Model | |
dc.subject | resilience | |
dc.subject | Theory of Resilience and Relational Load | |
dc.subject | wellbeing | |
dc.title | Relational Investments, Stress Appraisals, and Calibration: Examining the Wellbeing and Resilience of Dementia Family Caregivers | |
dc.type | Electronic Dissertation | |
dc.type | text | |
thesis.degree.grantor | University of Arizona | |
thesis.degree.level | doctoral | |
dc.contributor.committeemember | Harwood, Jake | |
dc.contributor.committeemember | Pitts, Margaret J. | |
thesis.degree.discipline | Graduate College | |
thesis.degree.discipline | Communication | |
thesis.degree.name | Ph.D. | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2023-08-30T06:31:52Z |