The Relationship between Positive and Negative Affect among Family Caregivers of Relatives with Dementia
Open Access
- Author:
- Robertson, Suzanne M
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- December 14, 2006
- Committee Members:
- Steven Howard Zarit, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Melissa Hardy, Committee Member
David Manuel Almeida, Committee Member
Linda Ann Wray, Committee Member - Keywords:
- positive affect
negative affect
caregiving
dementia - Abstract:
- In previous research, positive and negative affect have been conceptualized as either bipolar or independent constructs. Moreover, negative affect has received greater attention given its widespread association with psychological distress. The present research expounds these traditional paradigms by using two current models of affect as frameworks to investigate the relationship between positive and negative affect in a sample of 554 family caregivers of relatives with dementia. First, the dynamic model of affect (DMA) proposed by Zautra and colleagues, is a state-level model which suggests that occasion-specific stress influences the relationship between positive and negative affect. The DMA asserts that under conditions of stress positive and negative affect collapse into a single bipolar dimension as information-processing is simplified to negate the uncertainty created by the stressful situation. In contrast, Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions is a trait-level model which asserts that positive affect broadens individuals’ modes of thinking and behaving, assisting them in building personal resources. This model posits an evolutionary function of positive affect based on the accrual of resources that promoted survival among our ancestors and that enhance modern-day coping efforts. Using the DMA to represent state-level relationships between the affects, the hypothesis that positive and negative affect become inversely correlated as caregivers report higher levels of stress was examined. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions was used as a framework to investigate the moderating role of trait-level positive affect on the relationship between occasion-specific stress and negative affect. Multi-level modeling analyses indicated support for the DMA. The subjective stressor role overload was the most salient source of stress for caregivers in its relationship to negative affect. It was also the only source of stress that altered the relationship between caregivers’ levels of positive and negative affect. Caregivers with higher levels of role overload had a higher inverse relationship between the two affects; as stress levels increased negative affect also increased, driving positive emotion down. While this state-level relationship was significant, trait-level positive affect did not influence the relationship between stress and negative affect; thus the role of trait-level positive affect as a coping resource was not supported.