Social problem-solving abilities, relationship satisfaction and depression among family caregivers of stroke survivors

Primary objective: To examine the prospective relation of caregiver problem-solving abilities and relationship satisfaction to caregiver depression 1 month following care recipient discharge from an inpatient stroke rehabilitation facility. Research design: Correlational, prospective design. Methods and procedures: Participants included 39 women (average age = 51.47, SD = 20.59) and four men (average age = 42.50, SD = 5.57) assuming caregiver roles for persons discharged from stroke rehabilitation. Main outcome measure: The Beck Depression Inventory was the outcome measure at discharge and 1 month later. Results: Caregivers experienced a significant decrease in depression scores between the discharge and 1-month assessments. Lower relationship satisfaction and dysfunctional problem-solving abilities were independently and significantly predictive of depression scores at discharge. Dysfunctional problem-solving abilities were indirectly predictive of depression 1 month later. Conclusions: Dysfunctional problem-solving abilities and low relationship satisfaction are associated with caregiver depression, but dysfunctional problem-solving abilities maintain an indirect association with depression over 1 month. Implications of these findings for developing problem-solving training programmes for caregivers post-discharge are discussed.