Family Caregivers Who Drink Alcohol Daily Are More Likely To Have Abusive & Neglectful Behaviors Toward Care Recipients With Dementia

For family caregivers of relatives with dementia, caregivers who engaged in hazardous drinking and daily alcohol consumption were significantly and independently associated with increased odds of abusive and neglectful behaviors, according to a recent study. Caregivers who exhibited hazardous drinking behaviors at the start of the study had 2.89 times higher odds of engaging in neglectful behaviors and 2.32 times higher odds of psychologically aggressive actions toward the care recipient. Any alcohol use on a given day was associated with 2.32 greater odds of physically aggressive behavior and 1.66 greater odds of neglectful actions on the . . .