Support Quality Matters: Receiving Support and Hair Cortisol in People Living With Early‐Stage Alzheimer's Disease

This study extends the caregiving literature by incorporating an innovative, physiological measure of chronic stress and offering insights into PLWD's stress as they adapt to receiving intensive care from their spousal caregivers. When the quality of support is low, receiving emotional support more often elicits greater chronic stress in PLWD, whereas receiving practical support reduces stress. Findings highlight the importance of enhancing caregiving quality and shed light on the development of interventions that can guide caregivers in providing tailored, targeted support and reduce PLWD's chronic stress.