Is abusive behaviour a consequence of carer distress?

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In previous research, a quarter of caregivers of older people were willing to report actions that would be defined as abusive, although they may be unaware their behaviours could be seen in this light. This number is doubled in cases involving dementia. Preliminary studies suggest these caregivers are the most anxious and depressed. My pilot study found family caregivers of people with dementia were more burdened if caring for people with more behavioural problems. Greater burden was associated with unhelpful coping strategies, anxiety and depression. My study aims to determine whether anxious or depressed family caregivers of those with dementia are more likely to report abusive behaviour towards care recipients, and how caregiver burden, coping strategies and care recipient neuropsychiatric symptoms influence this. Secondly I will determine whether more care recipients experiencing abusive behaviours are institutionalised a year later. Interviews with 220 such caregivers of people referred to psychiatric services will include quantitative measures of these factors. We have consulted carers locally and nationally during the study development, particularly because of the distressing nature of the topic. Knowing more about risks associated with potentially abusive caregiver behaviour will enable development of early preventative interventions to help caregivers and care recipients.