The differential efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for dementia family caregivers' is analyzed through a randomized controlled trial. Participants were 135 caregivers with high depressive symptomatology who were randomly allocated to the intervention conditions or a control group (CG). Pre-, postintervention, and follow-up measurements assessed depressive symptomatology, anxiety, leisure, dysfunctional thoughts, and experiential avoidance. Depression: Significant effects of interventions compared with CG were found for CBT (p < .001, d = 0.98, number needed to treat [NNT] = 3.61) and ACT (p < .001, d = 1.17, NNT = 3.53) at postintervention, but were maintained only at follow-up for CBT (p = .02, d = 0.74, NNT = 9.71). Clinically significant change was observed in 26.7% participants in CBT, 24.2% in ACT, and 0% in CG. At follow-up, 10.53% in CBT and 4% in ACT were recovered (0% CG). Anxiety: At postintervention, ACT participants showed lower anxiety than CBT participants (p < .05, d = 0.50) and CG participants (p < .01, d = 0.79, NNT = 3.86), with no effects at follow-up. At postintervention, 23.33% in CBT, 36.36% in ACT, and 6.45% in CG showed clinically significant change. At follow-up, 26.32% in CBT, 36% in ACT, and 13.64% in CG were recovered. Significant changes at postintervention were found in leisure and dysfunctional thoughts in both ACT and CBT, with changes in experiential avoidance only for ACT. Similar results were obtained for ACT and CBT. ACT seems to be a viable and effective treatment for dementia caregivers.

The COVID-19 outbreak could be considered as an uncontrollable stressful life event. Lockdown measures have provoked a disruption of daily life with a great impact over older adults´ health and well-being. Nevertheless, eudaimonic well‐being plays a protective role in confronting adverse circumstances, such as the COVID-19 situation. This study aims to assess the association between age and psychological well-being (personal growth and purpose in life). Young-old (60-70 years) and Old-old (71 to 80 years) community-dwelling Spaniards (N = 878) completed a survey and reported on their sociodemographic characteristics and their levels of health, COVID-19 stress-related, appraisal and personal resources. Old-old did not evidence poorer psychological well-being than young-old. Age has only a negative impact on personal growth. The results also suggest that the nature of the COVID-19 impact (except for the loss of a loved one) may not be as relevant for the older adults’ well-being as their appraisals and personal resources for managing COVID-related problems. In addition, these results suggest that some sociodemographic and health-related variables have an impact on older adults’ well-being. Thus, perceived-health, family functioning, resilience, gratitude and acceptance had significant associations with both personal growth and purpose in life. Efforts to address older adults’ psychological well-being focusing on older adults’ personal resources should be considered.

The moderator role of guilt on the effect of leisure activities on dementia caregivers’ depressive symptoms was analyzed, considering differences by kinship and guilt as a multidimensional construct. Participants were 351 caregivers (58.97% daughters, 10.54% sons, 19.66% wives, and 10.83% husbands). Measures included frequency of leisure activities, depressive symptoms, and guilt (total scale and 5 factors). A moderator role of guilt was found only for daughters. Specifically, significant interactions between guilt and frequency of leisure activities were found for the total scale and for the Factors 1 (guilt about doing wrong by the care recipient), 2 (guilt about failing to meet the challenges of caregiving), and 3 (guilt about self-care). For those daughters who reported lower levels of leisure activities, showing higher levels of guilt was associated with higher scores in depressive symptoms, whereas those with lower levels of guilt showed lower depressive symptoms scores. Feelings of guilt may have different consequences on caregivers’ distress depending on caregivers’ gender and kinship. Daughters with higher levels of guilt who do not engage in leisure activities may be especially vulnerable to suffering psychological distress.

Objective: Providing care to a relative with dementia is associated with negative health consequences. Experiential avoidance has been found to be related to caregivers’ distress. However, no specific measure of experiential avoidance in the caregiving context is available. The aim of this study is to develop and present the psychometric properties of the Experiential Avoidance in Caregiving Questionnaire (EACQ).Method: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 263 dementia family caregivers (mean age = 61.37; SD = 14.84; 78.3% female). In addition to the EACQ, the Action and Acceptance Questionnaire (AAQ) was used. Depression, anxiety, alexithymia, cognitive fusion, dysfunctional thoughts about caregiving, and mean arterial pressure were also measured.Results: Using principal component analysis, three factors were retained that explained 44.75% of the variance. These factors were labeled: (1) Active Avoidant Behaviors; (2) Intolerance of Negative Thoughts and Emotions Towards the Relative; and (3) Apprehension Concerning Negative Internal Experiences Related to Caregiving. Acceptable reliability indexes (Cronbach's alpha) were found for each factor (.63 for factor 1; .71 for factor 2; and .60 for factor 3) and the total scale (α = .70). Significant positive associations were found between the global scale and anxiety, dysfunctional thoughts, alexithymia and the AAQ.Conclusion: The EACQ shows acceptable psychometric properties and may be a useful tool for clinical assessment and therapeutic work with caregivers.