Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Jun;23(2):447-52.
doi: 10.1037/0882-7974.23.2.447.

Impact of close family members on older adults' early response to depression treatment

Lynn M Martire  1 , Richard Schulz, Charles F Reynolds, Jennifer Q Morse, Meryl A Butters, Gregory A Hinrichsen
Affiliations

Impact of close family members on older adults' early response to depression treatment

Lynn M Martire et al. Psychol Aging. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

This study of 130 depressed older adults and their spouses or adult children examined the impact of caregiver burden specific to patients' depressive symptoms on patients' response to antidepressant treatment. Primary care patients completed medical, psychiatric, and neuropsychological assessments prior to treatment, and interviews were conducted with their identified family member. As hypothesized, caregivers' depression-specific burden predicted greater depression severity for the patient at the 6th week of treatment after accounting for patients' pretreatment characteristics, caregivers' depressive symptoms, and caregivers' relationship satisfaction. Future research may identify family attitudes and behaviors that stem from burden and compromise older adults' ability to recover from depression.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Bosworth HB, Hays JC, George LK, Steffens DC. Psychosocial and clinical predictors of unipolar depression outcome in older adults. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2002;17:238–246. - PubMed
    1. Butters MA, Whyte EM, Nebes RD, Begley AE, Dew MA, Mulsant BH, et al. The nature and determinants of neuropsychological functioning in late-life depression. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2004;61:587–595. - PubMed
    1. Butzlaff RL, Hooley JM. Expressed emotion and psychiatric relapse. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1998;55:547–552. - PubMed
    1. Carstensen LL, Isaacowitz DM, Charles ST. Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist. 1999;54:165–181. - PubMed
    1. Charney DS, Reynolds CF, III, Lewis L, Lebowitz BD, Sunderland T, Alexopoulos GS, et al. Depression and bipolar support alliance consensus statement on the unmet needs in diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders in late life. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2003;60:664–672. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances