The Influence of Religion: Individuals with Dementia and their Family Caregivers
Open Access
- Author:
- Nagpal, Neha
- Area of Honors:
- Interdisciplinary in Biology and Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Steven Howard Zarit, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. James Harold Marden, Thesis Honors Advisor
Dr. Lisa Michelle Gatzke-Kopp, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Dementia
Caregiving
Religion
Quality of life - Abstract:
- Religion has been cited as a positive coping mechanism for dealing with chronic illnesses and stress. However, studies yield mixed results on the relation between religion and positive outcomes for family caregivers of individuals with dementia. Moreover, research concerning religiosity of individuals with dementia has not been extensively explored. One hundred eleven individuals with mild to moderate dementia and their family caregivers were interviewed in-person to evaluate individuals with dementia’s everyday-care values and preferences, including religious preferences. Using multiple regression and multi-level modeling, we examined how measures of religiosity (attendance, prayer, and subjective ratings of religiosity and its importance) influence quality of life in individuals with dementia and their family caregivers, while accounting for individual and familial characteristics. After accounting for demographic characteristics and care-related stressors, regression analyses indicate that religiosity is not significantly associated with caregivers’ quality of life. However, religiosity is associated with higher quality of life in individuals with dementia. To examine the findings for individuals with dementia further, an actor-partner multi-level model was used to account for the interdependent relationship of dyads. We found that caregiver reports of the importance of religiosity to the individual with dementia were positively associated with individual with dementia self-perceived quality of life. These findings suggest that people with early-stage dementia use religiosity as a positive coping mechanism as they face a catastrophic illness. Given the dependence of individuals with dementia on caregivers to participate in religious activities, it is important that caregivers understand individuals with dementia’s values concerning religion.