Relational Maintenance Behaviors Mediate the Relationship Between Alzheimer’s Diagnosis Severity and Caregivers’ Benefit Finding

Caregivers often experience stress, depression, anxiety, and various physical illnesses stemming from the demands and challenges of their caregiving role. However, adaptive coping mechanisms such as benefit finding can mitigate these outcomes. The present study explored the relationship between Alzheimer's diagnostic severity and caregivers' engaging in benefit finding and, more specifically, whether prosocial relational maintenance behaviors communicated by the patient to the caregiver mediates the relationship between severity and benefit finding. A sample of 152 current or former Alzheimer's caregivers completed an online survey measuring their care recipient's Alzheimer's diagnostic severity, their own propensity for benefit finding, and how often the care recipient performed relational maintenance behaviors toward them as the caregiver. Results showed no direct effect existed between Alzheimer's diagnostic severity and caregivers' benefit finding; however, the extent that patients performed relational maintenance behaviors with their caregiver mediated the relationship between Alzheimer's diagnostic severity and caregivers' benefit finding. The significant influence of relational maintenance behaviors underlines the importance and effect of communication between caregivers and care recipients throughout the progression of a disease like Alzheimer's.