Mediating effects of predictability between caregiving demands and caregiving consequences for persons living with dementia: A longitudinal study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the role of predictability in the relationship between caregiving demands and caregiving consequences.

Methods: This 2-year longitudinal survey study collected from self-report questionnaires. A convenience sample of family caregivers of older persons living with dementia were recruited from a neurology clinic.

Results: A total of 200 family caregivers were recruited to participate. Analysis indicated predictability was a partial mediator between caregiving demand and caregiver consequences of role strain, depressive symptoms and both physical and mental components of health-related quality of life at the 2-year follow. Predictability accounted for 25 %, 28.8 %, 15.3 % and 46.5 % of the relationship between caregiving demand and caregiving consequences of role strain, depressive symptoms, physical- and mental-health related quality of life, respectively.

Conclusions: The contributions of caregiving demand to outcomes of caregiver consequences were in part due family caregivers perceived predictability for caregiving.