Blieszner, Rosemary

Objective Researchers have consistently shown that providing care in a gradually deteriorating situation, such as dementia, can be stressful and detrimental to the caregiver's (CG) health. Although stressor appraisal is important in understanding variability in CG outcomes, the role of personal mastery, a coping resource, in shaping CG's health outcomes has not been considered. The primary goal of this paper was to determine whether personal mastery is associated with a survival advantage for spousal CGs of persons with dementia.

This review of research on close relationships in old age is informed by principles of life span developmental psychology and life course theory in sociology. It begins with an elaboration of life span and life course concepts as applied to relationships and an analysis of the multiple forms that caring can take. The discussion continues with presentation of research on the effects of sociohistorical contexts on relationships in old age and studies of the effects of personal development and life events on relationships as well.