Psychological impact of dementia on the family: Proposal of an integrative model

摘要: Dementia does not only have an impact on the person who suffers the condition, but is the factor that triggers a process that threatens the whole family system. Dementia occurs in a context defined by a personal history (of the caregiver, the care recipient, and the family) and specific contextual characteristics (e.g., culture) that may have beneficial or detrimental effects on the condition. A conceptual integration of the psychosocial mechanisms or processes that contribute to generate a significant psychological impact of the dementia on the family as a whole is described. A theoretical model is proposed that integrates the mentioned processes, stressing the reciprocal influence of the factors in the actors involved (person with dementia, caregiver, family, and context). The diversity of potential interactions between the variables affecting the dementia process makes it desirable to individualize the interventions to be …