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Caring for an older adult with memory loss is stressful. Caregiver stress could produce negative outcomes such as depression. Previous research is limited in examining multiple intermediate pathways from caregiver stress to depressive symptoms. This study addresses this limitation by examining the role of self-efficacy, social support, and problem solving in mediating the relationships between caregiver stressors and depressive symptoms. Using a sample of 91 family caregivers, we tested simultaneously multiple mediators between caregiver stressors and depression. Results indicate that self-efficacy mediated the pathway from daily hassles to depression. Findings point to the importance of improving self-efficacy in psychosocial interventions for caregivers of older adults with memory loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used meta-analysis to examine recent studies of sex differences in coping. Women were more likely than men to engage in most coping strategies. The strongest effects showed that women were more likely to use strategies that involved verbal expressions to others or the self-to seek emotional support, ruminate about problems, and use positive self-talk. These sex differences were consistent across studies, supporting a dispositional level hypothesis. Other sex differences were dependent on the nature of the stressor, supporting role constraint theory. We also examined whether stressor appraisal (i.e., women's tendencies to appraise stressors as more severe) accounted for sex differences in coping. We found some support for this idea. To circumvent this issue, we provide some data on relative coping. These data demonstrate that sex differences in relative coping are more in line with our intuitions about the differences in the ways men and women cope with distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]