The Lived Experiences of Males within a Committed Relationship Who Are the Primary Caregivers for a Partner Diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia

<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p> <p><strong>THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF MALES WITHIN A COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP WHO ARE THE PRIMARY CAREGIVERS FOR A PARTNER DIAGNOSED WITH FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA</strong></p> <p><strong>By</strong></p> <p><strong>Aniela Kathryn Scanlon</strong></p> <p><strong>August 2020</strong></p> <p><strong>Dissertation supervised by Dr. David Delmonico</strong></p> <p><strong> Spouses who are caregivers for their partner with dementia experience significant changes within the relationship and in their daily lives. There is a focus in the extant literature on female caregivers and types of dementia that are more mainstream, like Alzheimer’s disease. However, little is known about the lived experiences of male primary caregivers for a spouse or partner diagnosed with dementia such as frontotemporal dementia. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of male primary caregivers in a committed relationship who are the primary caregiver for a partner diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) to understand how the male primary caregivers are personally impacted and how they experience interdependence and intimacy and ambiguous loss within the relationship. This study found male primary caregivers for a partner with FTD are deeply emotionally impacted by the changes in interdependency and intimacy within the relationship. This study also found that male primary caregivers retain their sense of independence even though their time to participate in individual activities is limited due to the caregiving role tasks.</strong><strong></strong></p>

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Immediate Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Counseling, Psychology, & Special Education

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Scanlon, Aniela

Contributors dc:contributor

• David Delmonico
• Laura Marshak
• William Casile

• Male caregivers
• FTD
• Ambiguous Loss
• Interdependence Theory
• Investment Model of Commitment
• Counseling
• Counselor Education
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1949

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dsc.duq.edu:etd-2942