CAREGIVER MASTERY AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN DEMENTIA BEHAVIORAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS - Research summary

Sep 29, 2026

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Caregivers facing dementia’s behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) have elevated risk for depressive symptoms, yet limited evidence explains whether caregiver self-efficacy can buffer these effects. This study tests whether self-efficacy, specifically mastery and related components (care tasks, decision-making, knowledge), mediates the BPSD–depression relationship. Mediation analysis uses baseline data from a clinical trial with 130 caregivers, employing bootstrapping with 95% confidence intervals. Results indicate mastery significantly mediates BPSD’s impact on depressive symptoms after covariate control. Higher BPSD relates to lower mastery, and lower mastery relates to higher depressive symptoms; other components show no significant mediation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

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Abstract

Background and aim

Methods

Results

Implications

Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 1109 Abstract citation ID: igaf122.3725 CAREGIVER MASTERY AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN DEMENTIA BEHAVIORAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS Kyungmi Lee, Faith Jackson, and Kylie Meyer, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their ability to handle challenging situations. Caregivers who experience greater bother from behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) of dementia are at high risk of experiencing depressive symptoms. While many studies have explored the impact of BPSD on caregivers’depression, limited research has examined how caregivers’self-efficacy may buffer the negative effects of BPSD. This study investigates whether caregiver self-efficacy, and the related concepts mastery and confidence (i.e., care tasks, decision-making, and knowledge), mediate the relationship between BPSD and caregivers’ depression. Mediation analysis was performed using baseline data from an ongoing clinical trial with 130 caregivers, and indirect effects were assessed via bootstrapping with 95% confidence intervals. Results show that mastery significantly mediates the effect of BPSD on depressive symptoms, even after controlling for caregiver age, sex, and caregiving duration. Higher BPSD was associated with lower mastery (β = -0.066, SE = 0.019, p = .0009); lower mastery was also associated with higher depressive symptoms (β = -0.400, SE = 0.118, p = .0010) . The indirect effect of mastery was statistically significant (β = 0.027, SE = 0.011, 95% CI [0.009, 0.051]). Among covariates, sex was positively associated with mastery (β = 0.216, p = .013), while age and caregiving duration were not significantly related to mastery or depressive symptoms. Other self-efficacy components did not show significant mediation effects. These findings support mastery as an independent mediator between BPSD and caregiver depressive symptoms, highlighting the importance of interventions targeting mastery to reduce depression in caregivers.

FAQs

What does the study examine about caregiver self-efficacy?

It investigates whether caregiver self-efficacy—especially mastery and its related components—mediates the relationship between dementia BPSD and caregivers’ depressive symptoms.

How was the mediation analysis conducted?

Using baseline data from an ongoing clinical trial with 130 caregivers, indirect effects were tested with bootstrapping and 95% confidence intervals.

What key result supports the role of mastery?

Mastery significantly mediates the effect of BPSD on depressive symptoms even after controlling for caregiver age, sex, and caregiving duration.

Sep 29, 2026

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