Background 

• Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias(ADRD) are characterized by progressive cognitivedecline beyond memory impairment, affectingcommunication and social function.1,2

• Social functionis one’s ability to perform socialtasks/maintain social relationships.3

• Declines in communication and socialization areclosely intertwined and may contribute to overallfunctional impairment and  caregiver burden.4,5,6

• The Situational Assessment of Activity andFunction (SAAF) is an emerging assessmentproviding a more holistic evaluation of functionalcognition by capturing task performance and thedynamic interaction between an individual andtheir environment.7

• This analysis focuses on the social aspects offunctional cognition, as measured by the SAAF,to examine the relationship between caregiverburden/distress and social function of individualswith ADRD. 

Methods 

• Secondary analysis was performed onquantitative data  from adults with ADRD andtheir family  caregivers (N=112).

• Pearson correlation was used to evaluatepotential relationships between:

• Caregiver distress as measured by theNeuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI)

• Caregiver burden as measured by theZarit Burden Inventory (ZBI)

• Social function as measured by theSocialization and Community Affairssubscales of the SAAF

• Social function subscales were analyzed asseparate variables, as well as combined into asingle construct.

• Statistical analyses and demographic data wereassessed using IBM SPSS Statistics 31. 

Results 

• Data were analyzed from 56 caregivers/people with ADRDdyads (N=112).

• Significant negative relationships were identified betweencaregiver burden and Community Participation (r=-0.39,p<0.01), caregiver distress and Community Participation(r=-0.35, p=0.02), and caregiver burden and Socialization(r=-0.36, p=0.01).

• Combined social function scores were likewise significantly,negatively related to burden (r=-0.36, p=0.02), and approachedsignificance with caregiver distress (r=-0.29, p=0.06).

• Lower SAAF scores represent greater impairment; higher NPIand ZBI scores represent increased distress/burden. 

Conclusion 

• Impaired social function strongly predictscaregiver burden, with a similar near-significantrelationship to caregiver distress.

• This highlights an area of tension beyondtraditional care tasks.

• A holistic evaluation of functional cognitionhelps deepen the understanding of therelationship between caregiver burden andsocial function of individuals with ADRD.