The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jun 2014
From serving in the military to serving loved ones: unique experiences of older veteran caregivers.
We examined whether older caregiving veterans differ from noncaregiving veterans in terms of health and psychosocial factors and how these factors and caregiving aspects (i.e., hours, relationship type) relate to caregiving strain and reward. We also evaluated two hypotheses: (1) combat exposure provides protection from emotional caregiving strain, and (2) grandparenting is particularly rewarding. ⋯ One in five older U.S. veterans is a caregiver. Older veterans' combat exposure may decrease the emotional demands of caregiving, and grandparenting is perceived as particularly rewarding. Results suggest that older veterans are an important caregiving resource that deserves tailored resources.