[Reducing psychological discomfort and overload in Alzheimer's family caregivers through a mindfulness meditation program].
Clemente Franco, María del Mar Sola, Eduardo Justo
Revista Espanola de Geriatria y Gerontologia 2010 DOI: 10.1016/j.regg.2010.03.006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental (group comparison) with pretest/post-test/follow-up Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Primary family caregivers of Alzheimer dementia patients |
| Intervention | Mindfulness development meditation program |
| Duration | Intervention period not specified; follow-up at four months after intervention |
| Measures | SCL-90-R Questionnaire, Caregiver Overload Scale |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The mindfulness program significantly reduced psychological discomfort and caregiver overload in the experimental group compared to the control group at post-test, but improvements were lower at the four-month follow-up, with scores significantly higher than at post-test across all dimensions. |
Abstract
This study analyzes the effects that a mindfulness development meditation program has on psychological discomfort and overload in main family caregivers of Alzheimer dementia patients. A quasi-experimental (group comparison) design with pretest/post-test/follow-up measurements was employed in an experimental and a control group. The evaluation instruments used were the SCL-90-R Questionnaire and the Caregiver Overload Scale. The statistical analyses done show a significant reduction in the three general indices and in the various dimensions of psychological discomfort, as well as in the caregiver overload variable in the experimental group compared to the control group at the end of the intervention. However, the improvements found in the experimental group were lower in the follow-up evaluation done four months after intervention, with significantly higher scores than in post-test in all the dimensions. These results are in agreement with other studies in which it was found that intervention for Alzheimer caregivers is effective in the short term, but the effect becomes diluted over time, so measurements and policies for these caregivers have to enable the beneficial effects of intervention reducing psychological discomfort and overload to be maintained.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- The Effectiveness of Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Interventions for Informal Caregivers of People With Dementia: A Meta-Analysis The Gerontologist March 2, 2018
- Propiedades psicométricas de la versión corta del Inventario Friburgo de Mindfulness Terapia psicológica April 1, 2022
- Randomized Controlled Trial of Inner Resources Meditation for Family Dementia Caregivers. Journal of Clinical Psychology December 2017
- Meditation and Music Improve Memory and Cognitive Function in Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Journal of Alzheimer's Disease January 18, 2017
- Biomarkers of Resilience in Stress Reduction for Caregivers of Alzheimer's Patients. Neuromolecular medicine June 2016