Although caregiving has become a major gerontological focus, less attention has been paid to differences in family responses to the elder's impairment depending on whether the disability is physical or mental and to the effects on family members beyond the primary caregiver. Data for this study were taken from in-person interviews with a subsample from a longitudinal survey of three-generalizational families. Respondents (N=63) included 18 relatives of elders with a physical illness or chronic disability, 19 relatives of elders suffering from a mental dysfunction, and 25 relatives who reported no illnesses and no caregiving. Interviewees were asked to describe their family situation and were evaluated for depression, degree of burden, and activities of daily living scale to indicate degree of impairment of relative. There were no significant differences between physically and mentally impaired groups on degree of impairment, burden, or depression. The activities of daily living items predicted burden in the physical impairment group. Moreover, in the physical group, families who provided greater frequency of care reported more burden, while in the mental group, families who provided less care reported more burden. (Author/ABL)