Dynamics of Intergenerational Caregiving

Providing care for individuals with dementia is among§the most §difficult challenges facing families caring for older§partners and §parents. Although some aspects of the caregiving§experience are §consistent across families, there is significant§variability in the ways §families experience, perceive, interact and cope with§the task of §caring for their family member. Expressed emotion§(EE), the degree §of criticism or emotional over-involvement that a§caregiver §expresses towards their care-recipient, serves as a§useful §framework for characterizing the caregiving§environment and is §predictive of care-recipients outcomes across a§variety of §conditions. However, it remains unclear why some§caregivers §respond to care-recipients with high EE and others do§not. One §construct that may play a role in patterns of EE is§attachment. A §significant body of literature has demonstrated that§attachment §guides caregiving behavior across a variety of§relationships. This §book presents a study that examines the complex§relationships §between attachment and EE.