The relationship between dyadic congruence and family caregiver strain

Many family caregivers (CGs) of person's with cognitive impairment (PWCIs) face the critical task of arranging for their relative's living arrangements, services, and activities. The potential stress CGs face surrounding decision-making for the PWCI centers on: 1) the CG's perceptions of the PWCI's preferences for care, and 2) how congruent the CG's perceptions are with the PWCI's preferences for care. This presentation examines dyadic congruence and its effect on CG strain in 111 CG-PWCI dyads. PWCIs were asked about their own preferences while CGs were asked about their perceptions of their relative's preferences on topics including decision-making, personal care, living arrangements, and use of f0t'tnal services. Dyadic congruence was measured using CG-PWCI difference scores for each question. Significant correlations between congruence and measures of CG strain indicate that as awareness of relative's care preferences increases, CGs' Quality of Life improves (r=.26, p=.010) and Financial Strain (r=-.30, p=.003) and Relationship Strain decrease (r=-.21, p=.025). These results suggest that increasing discussion of care preferences among dyads may be one method of alleviating caregiver strain.