The Investigation of Perceived Stress and Religious Coping among Female Caregivers of the Elderly with Dementia

Caregivers of patients with dementia face with challenges and negative outcomes of stress. The impact of stressor events on mental health is related to coping strategies and religious coping is one of the supportive strategies in family caregivers. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceived stress and religious coping among female caregivers of the elderly with dementia. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 100 female caregivers of the elderly with dementia referred to the Iran Alzheimer's Association and a neurologic clinic were selected through consecutive sampling in 2013. The data were collected using Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Religious Coping Scale (RCOPE), and analyzed by independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression tests. The mean score of perceived stress was 30.00±5.86 (range 10-45). The caregivers who had received no help, perceived higher level of stress (p=0.040). The mean score of positive religious coping was 23.57±4.96 (range 7-28) and negative religious coping was obtained 8.82±2.29 (range 7-19). There were significant relationships between positive religious coping with educational level (p=0.023) and also between negative religious coping with economic status (p=0.050). There were not significant correlations between perceived stress with positive religious coping (r= 0.085, p=0.398) and also with negative religious coping (r= -0.079, p=0.432). Based on the results that showed the average level of perceived stress and relatively favorable positive religious coping in participants, the supportive educative interfering programs are suggested for stress management and religious coping improvement in female caregivers of the elderly with dementia.