Psychotherapy use and depression among AIDS caregivers

Psychotherapy use and depression among AIDS caregivers were examined with two waves of data from a panel survey of caregivers in Los Angeles and San Francisco (N = 472). Both were studied as outcomes driven by an array of determining factors (e.g., caregivers and care recipient health; care-related stress). AIDS caregivers exhibited relatively high rates of psychotherapy use (31% reported using at the time of initial interview). Care- related stress did not significantly predict the use of psychotherapy in either the baseline or longitudinal analyses. Instead, the health status, relationship, and living arrangements of the caregiver and the care recipient were the important correlates of psychotherapy use. Factors affecting depression over the course of caregiving were caregiver health status and care-related stress, particularly secondary stressors which arise as a consequence of, but not directly due to, caregiving. Thus, although the stressors of caregiving do not prompt the use of psychotherapy, they clearly led to an elevation in symptoms of depression, which is associated with psychotherapy use. Findings regarding the relation of psychotherapy to changes in depression over the course of caregiving also are discussed.