Personal Views of Aging Among Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia and Non-Caregivers: Gauging the Role of Individual Characteristics and Caregiving-Related Burden

<b>Background:</b> Caring for dependent older relatives is thought to influence caregivers' personal views of aging (VoA)-that is, perceptions regarding their own aging self. This study aimed to examine personal VoA, particularly felt age (FA) and awareness of age-related change (AARC), in caregivers of people with dementia (PwD) compared to non-caregivers, and to ascertain their relationship with caregiving-related burden and distress among dementia caregivers. <b>Methods:</b> Seventy dementia caregivers and 94 non-caregivers (age range: 45-85 years) reported their FA and completed a questionnaire assessing awareness of age-related gains (AARC-Gains) and losses (AARC-Losses) and a mood measure. Dementia caregivers' burden and distress were also relieved. <b>Results:</b> No differences emerged between dementia caregivers and non-caregivers' personal VoA. Different sociodemographic and health-related factors were related to AARC-Gains or AARC-Losses, but not felt age, in each group. AARC-Gains were associated with social status among non-caregivers, whereas AARC-Losses were related to chronological age and subclinical depression in non-caregivers, and to social status, self-rated health, and burden in dementia caregivers. A path model revealed a direct effect of burden, social status, and self-rated health, as well as an indirect one of subclinical depression through burden, on caregivers' AARC-Losses. <b>Conclusions:</b> These findings confirm the interplay between VoA, sociodemographic, and health-related factors in adulthood and older age. They, then, suggest that the strains derived from caring for a PwD influence dementia caregivers' personal VoA, particularly when their awareness of age-related losses is concerned.