Shafer, AutumnCole, Cassandra2024-08-072024-08-072024-08-07https://hdl.handle.net/1794/29808Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that significantly impacts one’s memory, behavior, and motor functions—ultimately, a person with Alzheimer’s disease requires constant care. Caregivers are often unpaid relatives, sacrificing their own time, money, and personal lives to care for a loved one with a debilitating disease. Previous research suggests that caregivers experience detrimental effects to their mental health resulting from caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, including increased stress, depression, and isolation. The study survey draws on questions from the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, and a newly designed Caregiver Communication Scale to understand the relationship between caregiving communication and the caregiver’s own mental health. The findings indicate that increased communication is associated with a decrease in perceived stress and an increase in the use of active coping strategies among caregivers. English language preference was also found to be associated with the caregiver’s level of Alzheimer’s disease knowledge.en-USAll Rights Reserved.Alzheimer's DiseaseCaregivingCommunicationMental HealthPerceived StressWays of CopingElectronic Thesis or Dissertation