Spouse caregivers' perceptions of influence of XXXX on marriage.

@entity1 @entity303 @entity221
OBJECTIVES: To investigate what kind of changes spouse caregivers of demented @entity1 experience after the onset of @entity303 (a) in the general atmosphere, happiness, and relations of marriage and (b) in the sexual side of marriage. DESIGN: Semistructured telephone interviews of spouse caregivers of demented @entity1 . SETTING: Community-living demented @entity1 and their spouse caregivers in eastern Finland. @entity1 : The spouse caregivers of 42 demented @entity1 recruited from a previous intervention study. MEASURES: The questionnaire covered different areas of marriage from the time before and after the onset of @entity303 . RESULTS: A statistically significant decline had occurred in extent of happiness (p = .012), in equal relations (p = .001), and in @entity1 ' expressions of sexual needs (p < .001) when compared the time before and after @entity303 . Twenty-five (60%) of the caregivers reported that the demented @entity1 had shown at least one negative sexual behavioral change during the course of @entity303 . Seven male @entity1 (24%) had shown the behavioral symptom of constantly expressing need for making love. One in 10 caregivers had experienced positive sexual behavioral changes. In one third of the @entity1 , the expressions of tenderness towards the caregiver had increased. @entity303 did not affect significantly the general atmosphere of the marriage. Out of those still in home care, at 3 years from the onset of @entity303 , 19 couples (46%) continued to practice intercourse, at 5 years the number was 15 couples (41%), and at 7 years it had declined to 7 couples (28%). CONCLUSIONS: @entity221 has a major negative impact on many dimensions of marriage. However, there are also positive changes and preserved aspects of marriage. @entity303 seems to have a surprisingly little impact on whether the couple continues to have intercourse when compared with the general aging population.
