Cognitive correlates of caregiver fear of falling.

OBJECTIVES: Fear of falling is prevalent among older adults and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Caregivers have a heightened risk of fear of falling due to the strenuous activities inherent in the caregiving relationship and potential exposure to falls by the care recipient. Cognition is associated with fear of falling; however, cognition's relationship with fear of falling is unclear in the caregiver population. The present study investigated the potential influence of cognitive function on fear of falling in a sample of informal caregivers (n = 50) of persons with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury or dementia.

METHOD: Cognitive domains of interest included attention, executive function, processing speed, and learning and memory. Worry was assessed with the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and fear of falling was assessed with the Short Falls Efficacy Scale. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear regressions.

RESULTS: Executive function had a significant negative association with fear of falling, while processing speed and learning and memory did not. Attention trended toward significance.

CONCLUSION: Findings support fear of falling as a potential situational anxiety construct and executive functioning as a potential cognitive correlate of fear of falling among caregivers.