Abstract
This study investigates the factors involved in the adjustment of carers of spouses suffering organic degenerative diseases, following the spouses’ admission to long term care. The study was part- longitudinal and part- cross-sectional in design. A semi-structured interview was administered to thirty participants, who had been caring for a husband or wife suffering from a degenerative organic disease, and admitted them into residential care within the past twelve months. The interview elicited opinions about the decision-making process leading to their spouses’ admission; how the carer coped with their spouses’ illness, and the effects of the illness on the couples’ marriage. Standardised measures were taken to measure physical and mental health, marital quality and the care recipients’ level of functioning prior to admission . It was hypothesised that: 1. Carers whose spouses enter long-term care after a period of being cared for at home will adjust better emotionally and physically if they perceive the admission process as a positive experience. 2. The quality of the relationship within the marriage prior to admission will influence adjustment to life after admission. 3.The severity of the spouses’ illness prior to admission will have a negative impact on the carers’ state of mental health. 4. No sex differences will be found. Results found that 1. There was tentative support for the hypothesis that carers adjusted better to their spouse going into care when they perceived the admission process as a positive experience. 2. Carers with a poor quality relationship prior to the admission of their spouse adjusted well to the change in lifestyle. Carers with a good quality relationship were equally divided between those who adjusted well and those who adjusted poorly to their spouses’ admission into care. 3. The length of the care recipients’ illness had a negative effect on the carers’ state of mental health, as measured by the General Health Questionnaire. The longer the illness, the greater the possibility of developing psychological problems for the carer. 4. In general, no sex differences were found. Male carers were older than female carers. Female carers had more contact with support services than males and females experienced a poorer quality of relationship than males The results of the study suggest that community services could have a greater role in supporting carers through the process of deciding whether to place a spouse in residential care, and providing support after placement could be beneficial in helping carers adjust better to life once full-time caring has ceased. Awareness of issues surrounding the quality of the marital relationship can also be a useful tool in predicting the adjustment of a carer once their spouse has entered a care home.