Content and domain specificity of coping among family caregivers of persons with dementia

In order to identify the coping efforts employed in two stressful domains of caregiving, and to add content specificity to these coping efforts, a classification scheme of coping was inductively derived through a systematic content analysis of narratives drawn from 51 caregivers of persons with dementia. The scheme contains 11 classes encompassing 53 categories of coping efforts employed for two stressors: the most upsetting symptom of the disease, and a ''deprivation'' occasioned by the caregiving role. Analyses across and within these two stressors revealed differences in the caregivers' use of and relative reliance on certain classes of coping, underscoring the domain specificity of coping. Further, compared to assessments of coping that do not distinguish among different stressors, the domain specific ways of coping yielded a better understanding of coping's relationship to distress and well-being.