Dementia

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for free access to the SAGE eReference platform!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dulin, P. L.
Right arrow Articles by Dominy, J. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Dementia, Vol. 7, No. 1, 55-69 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1471301207085367

The influence of feeling positive about helping among dementia caregivers in New Zealand

Helping attitudes predict happiness

Patrick L. Dulin

Massey University, New Zealand

Jean B. Dominy

Massey University, New Zealand, jean.dominy{at}xtra.co.nz

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the unique contribution of positive attitudes about helping others in predicting emotional functioning among a sample of dementia caregivers. Participants were 158 older (M = 68 years) caregivers residing in New Zealand. Participants completed surveys consisting of the Revised Ways of Coping Checklist, the Helping Attitudes Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and a tailored measure of demographic and caregiver contextual variables. Results indicated that helping attitudes had the largest correlation with positive affect (r = .31). Regression analyses also indicated that helping attitudes predicted positive affect with the other relevant demographic and coping variables controlled for statistically. This study indicates that having a positive attitude towards helping others may be an important determinant of positive emotional functioning among dementia caregivers and may help to offset the oft-cited negative consequences of caregiving. The implications for caregiver selection and caregiver intervention strategies are discussed.

Key Words: affect • altruism • coping


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?