TABLE 1.
Baseline Characteristics of 73 Family Caregivers, N (%) or M (±SD)
| Caregiver Characteristics | Total Sample (N = 73) | PST Group (N = 36) | NT Group (N = 37) | Statistical Testa | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCI family caregiver (vs AD caregiver) | 43 (58.9) | 23 (63.8) | 20 (54.0) | 0.729 | 0.292 |
| Age in years (sample range = 27–84 yrs old) | 64.98 (11.3) | 66.4 (8.0) | 63.4 (13.7) | 1.13 | 0.261 |
| Female sex | 57 (78.1) | 28 (77.7) | 29 (78.3) | 0.004 | 0.951 |
| Caucasian | 72 (98.6) | 35 (97.2) | 37 (100) | 1.04 | 0.307 |
| College degree | 39 (53.4) | 19 (52.7) | 20 (54) | 0.012 | 0.913 |
| Spousal caregiver | 55 (75.3) | 31 (86.1) | 24 (64.8) | 4.43b | 0.035 |
| Years in relationship with care recipient (sample range: 3–60 years) | 34.8 (17.3) | 32.8 (17.4) | 36.7 (17.3) | 0.971 | 0.335 |
| Lives alone with care recipient | 24 (32.8) | 30 (83.3) | 21 (56.7) | 6.12b | 0.013 |
| Income, above $40,000 | 58 (79.4) | 32 (88.8) | 26 (70.2) | 2.53 | 0.112 |
| Income is adequate to meet expenses | 61 (83.5) | 33 (91.6) | 28 (75.6) | 3.39 | 0.065 |
| Caregiver employed | 41 (56.2) | 18 (50.0) | 23 (62.1) | 1.09 | 0.295 |
| MMSE score (sample range: 25–30) | 29.4 (1.2) | 29.7 (.7) | 29.2 (1.5) | 1.80 | 0.074 |
| Have illness that limits activities | 42 (57.5) | 17 (47.2) | 25 (67.5) | 3.09 | 0.079 |
| Depression level (CES-D) | 10.08 (10.0) | 8.7 (9.3) | 11.4 (10.6) | 1.49 | 0.255 |
| Anxiety level (STAI) | 28.84 (10.1) | 28.1 (10.3) | 29.5 (10.1) | 0.57 | 0.567 |
| Positive Problem Solving (PPO) | 102.40 (12.73) | 103.97 (12.31) | 100.86 (13.11) | 1.043 | 0.301 |
| Negative problem orientation (NPO) | 94.14 (10.65) | 94.00 (10.81) | 95.27 (10.60) | 0.507 | 0.614 |
| Care Recipient Characteristics | |||||
| Age in years (sample range: 57–97) | 75.2 (8.8) | 74.1 (9.2) | 76.2 (8.4) | 1.022 | 0.310 |
| Female sex | 26 (35.6) | 12 (33.3) | 14 (37.8) | 0.161 | 0.688 |
| Care recipient employed | 37 (50.6) | 15 (41.6) | 22 (59.4) | 2.31 | 0.128 |
Notes: CES-D and STAI data were log transformed prior analyses in order to reduce skewness in their distributions. Reported here are raw scores in order to facilitate interpretation. MCI: mild cognitive impairment; MMSE: Mini Mental Sate Exam; PST: problem solving training; NT: nutritional training.
a
Independent sample t-test statistics (df = 71) were computed for continuous data and χ2 tests (df = 1) were computed for dichotomous data, p-values are two-tailed.
b
p <0.05.