The impact of dementia on marital relationships

This article reviews some of the issues and themes in the literature on caregiving in dementia and marriage, which form the basis of a doctoral dissertation being carried out by the author. The study is utilizing both standardized scales and in-depth interviews to investigate the impact of dementia on marital relationships, in particular the influence on morale of caregiving spouses, of marital intimacy, marital satisfaction, social support from spouse and the experience of pleasant events. The article will refer to some of the qualitative information emerging from the interviews. In the past 30 years the caregiving literature in the fields of psychology, psychiatry and gerontology has focused primarily on the negative consequences of caregiving, such as strain and burden. Although the nature of the relationship between caregiver and care recipient is considered to be a relevant factor, the nature of the marital relationship has received relatively little attention. The impact on aspects of the marital relationship, such as reduced shared activities, loss of emotional support from spouse and a diminution in the quality of verbal communication between the couple may have negative consequences for the morale of caregiving spouses and their perception of changes in marital intimacy and marital satisfaction. When considering caregiving in the future, changing attitudes towards marriage, and intimate relationships in general, need to be taken into account.