When caregiving ends: The course of depressive symptoms after bereavement

This study describes depressive symptoms among caregivers/following bereavement and connects these trajectories to earlierfeatures of caregiving using life course and stress process theory. Data are from a six-wave longitudinal survey (five years) ofspouses and adult children caringfor someone with Alzheimer Disease. The analytic subsomple (N = 291) is defined by death of the carerecipient after the baseline interview. A latent class mixture model is used to identify distinctive clusters of depressive symptoms over time. Of the four trajectories identified, three represent stable symptom levels over time, with two thirds being repeatedly symptomatic (medium symptom levels), compared to two smaller groups of repeatedly asymptomatic (effectively absent of symptoms) and repeatedly distressed (severe symptoms). In contrast, about one in five care givers experiences improved emotional well-being over time, the temporarily distressed, who progress ftom severe to moderate symptom levels. Caregivers withfew symptoms before bereavement tend to maintain these states afterwards, but emotionally distressed caregivers tend to become more distressed. Role overload before bereavement substantially increases the odds offollowing an unfavorable trajectory afterwards, whereas self-esteem and socioemotional support play protective roles. These results demonstrate that caregivers are not uniform in their emotional responses to bereavement, butfollow several distinct trajectories. These trajectories are linked to their previous experiences as caregivers, in particular exposure to stressors and access to resources. These findings suggest that intervention during caregiving may facilitate adaptation following death of a loved one.