Personal Views of Aging Among Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia and Non-Caregivers: Gauging the Role of Individual Characteristics and Caregiving-Related Burden

Background: Caring for dependent older relatives is thought to influence caregivers’ personal views of aging (VoA)—that is, perceptions regarding their own aging self. This study aimed to examine personal VoA, particularly felt age (FA) and awareness of age-related change (AARC), in caregivers of people with dementia (PwD) compared to non-caregivers, and to ascertain their relationship with caregiving-related burden and distress among dementia caregivers. Methods: Seventy dementia caregivers and 94 non-caregivers (age range: 45–85 years) reported their FA and completed a questionnaire assessing awareness of age-related gains (AARC-Gains) and losses (AARC-Losses) and a mood measure. Dementia caregivers’ burden and distress were also relieved. Results: No differences emerged between dementia caregivers and non-caregivers’ personal VoA. Different sociodemographic and health-related factors were related to AARC-Gains or AARC-Losses, but not felt age, in each group. AARC-Gains were associated with social status among non-caregivers, whereas AARC-Losses were related to chronological age and subclinical depression in non-caregivers, and to social status, self-rated health, and burden in dementia caregivers. A path model revealed a direct effect of burden, social status, and self-rated health, as well as an indirect one of subclinical depression through burden, on caregivers’ AARC-Losses. Conclusions: These findings confirm the interplay between VoA, sociodemographic, and health-related factors in adulthood and older age. They, then, suggest that the strains derived from caring for a PwD influence dementia caregivers’ personal VoA, particularly when their awareness of age-related losses is concerned.