Contextualizing Caregiver Burden in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Dyadic Perspective

Emily L. Giannotto (), Christopher Hertzog and Amy D. Rodriguez
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Emily L. Giannotto: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Christopher Hertzog: School of Psychology, College of Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Amy D. Rodriguez: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 11, 1-25

Abstract: Multidimensional approaches to understanding the daily lived experiences and well-being among spousal dyads, where one partner has diagnosed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and the other serves as an informal caregiver, is a relatively unexplored area of research. This study examined contextual day-to-day patterns of spousal dyads’ caregiver burden, depressive affect, stress, relationship mutuality, sleep, and cognition from the perspective of both dyad members. For 14 consecutive nights, 27 dyads ( n = 54 individuals) completed online daily diary forms. The forms included self and informant reports about daily caregiver burden, depressive affect, stress, dyadic interactions, memory, and sleep quality. Exploratory multilevel modeling was performed to understand how daily fluctuations among these aspects of everyday living for both dyad members were associated. Mutuality emerged as an important moderator for caregiver burden and depressive affect outcomes, underscoring the significance of the relationship between care recipients with MCI and their caregivers. Sleep debt was also associated with contagion effects among partners’ depressive affect, stress, mutuality, and cognition. The present study demonstrates the value of multifaceted investigations that account for contextually relevant factors using daily repeated measures with both dyad members to better understand the MCI caregiver experience. Larger, more diverse samples are needed for generalizability of findings.

Keywords: mild cognitive impairment; caregiving; caregiver burden; depressive affect; stress; mutuality; cognition; sleep quality; daily diary; dyadic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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