TITLE:
Interaction within the Caregiver-Elderly Dyad: The Effect of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention
AUTHORS:
Karina Reyes-Jarquín, Ana Luisa González-Celis, Rebeca Guzmán-Saldaña, Angélica Romero-Palencia
KEYWORDS:
Interaction, Caregivers, Intervention, Cognitive-Behavioral, Elderly
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.9 No.12,
November
30,
2018
ABSTRACT: The caregiving function implies providing help with the Basic Activities of Daily Living, or with the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. In the case of the elderly residing in Gerontological Attention Centers, this function is provided for by gerontological specialists, which can be identified as formal caregivers. The relationship between caregiver and elderly is particularly interesting due to the physical, psychological, and health implications that the former enacts over the person receiving care. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention, directed towards formal caregivers of the elderly, on the interaction between the members of this dyad. This intervention was evaluated through behavioral categories, using repeated measures ANOVA and Cohen’s “d” analyses and the results indicate that caregivers increased the execution of activities within the positive behavioral categories, while the elderly residing in the centers also showed improvements in all the evaluations despite not having received any intervention whatsoever, but, instead, as a response to the changes manifested in their caregivers.