Attitudes and Decisional Conflict in Family Caregivers of Persons With Dementia: A Mediating Role of Perceived Benefits of Advance Care Planning

Background Family caregivers of people with dementia often experience decisional conflict—a state of uncertainty regarding end-of-life care choices—influenced by attitudes and perceived benefits of advance care planning. Objective To examine whether perceived benefits mediate the relationship between attitudes and decisional conflict among these caregivers. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 92 family caregivers in South Korea. Mediation analysis was performed, controlling for age, education, and depressive symptoms. Results More positive attitudes were associated with lower decisional conflict directly and indirectly through perceived benefits. The indirect effect was significant ( B = −0.371, 95% CI [−0.867, −0.033]), indicating partial mediation. In addition, the total and direct effects of attitudes on decisional conflict were both statistically significant ( p < .05 for both). The model explained 28.2% of the variance in decisional conflict ( F = 6.75, R 2 = .282, p < .001). Perceived benefits may reduce decisional conflict among dementia caregivers.