Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to test the stress process model (SPM; Pearlin, Mullan, Semple, & Skaff, 1990) in a racially diverse sample of Alzheimer's caregivers (CGs) using structural equation modeling (SEM) and regression techniques. A secondary aim was to examine race or ethnicity as a moderator of the relation between latent…

Studied 127 informal caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients to determine correlates of 5 components of burden as measured by Cost of Care Index. Significant relationships between predictor variables and burden components suggest that global scores and measures of burden do not identify specific problem areas relative to various components of…

Examined strategies used by 170 Alzheimer's disease caregivers to cope with memory deficits, communication impairments, and decline of loved one. Wishfulness was related to more depressed affect, regardless of stressor type. Relaxation in response to memory deficits, and acceptance in dealing with communication impairments and decline of loved one…

Collected weekly ratings of events and appraisals from 19 caregivers of demented patients and 19 control subjects over 4 weeks. Caregivers reported more negative events overall and rated them as more undesirable than did controls, but significant differences were found in events of only 2 of 11 life areas measured. (Author/NB)

Examined consequences of institutionalization for 555 caregivers of dementia patients. Consistent with stress process model, institutionalization was hypothesized to have large impact on primary effects of caregiving and lesser influence on secondary effects and well-being. Following placement, caregivers experienced relief from primary effects of…

Compared self- and other-rated depression in spousal caregivers for 23 Alzheimer's patients, 23 Parkinsons' Disease patients, and 23 control subjects. Two caregiver groups were similar in length of time they had been giving care and in caregiver distress and both caregiver groups were more depressed than control subjects. (Author/NB)

Developed 24-item, 5-subscale Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI) as useful diagnostic tool for professional caregivers. Administered CBI to 107 caregivers of cognitively impaired older people. Individual cases illustrated that caregivers with same total burden scores can have markedly different patterns of burden and different social and…

Examined psychological and immunological changes among 25 caregivers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, 25 caregivers of stroke patients, and 25 noncaregivers. Found that AD caregiving group was more psychologically distressed than stroke group, and both caregiving groups were more psychologically distressed than controls. Found no differences…

Considered impact of physical environment on work-related stress and quality of care in day care center integrating demented people and other frail elderly. Examined positive and negative differences before and after move to new facility. Discusses implications for facility design and other program characteristics. (Author/CM)

Evaluated development of integrated family assessment inventory based on Double ABCX and Circumplex models of family functioning and its clinical utility with 121 primary family caregivers from cognitive disorders program. Proposed model predicted significant proportion of variance associated with caregiver stress and strain. Several aspects of…

Examined loss of identity resulting from engulfment in caregiver role among 555 adult children and spouses caring for Alzheimer patient. Loss was more common among spouses, females, and younger caregivers. Limited social contact and lack of social roles were related to greater loss of self. Found loss of self associated with lower…

Describes Time Off Promotes Strength (TOPS), program for caregivers of Alzheimer's victims which provides in-home and day program services. Explains that, through application of service/training model adapted from Global Deterioration Scale, TOPS maintains high quality of services with limited but highly trained professional staff. (Author/NB)

Examined 3 conceptually distinct dimensions of family conflict in relation to depression and anger among 555 caregivers of Alzheimer patients. Found that conflicts involving family members' attitudes and actions toward caregiver were associated with increased risk for depression among caregivers, whereas conflicts stemming from family members'…

Studied depression of family caregivers seeking help to increase coping skills (N=158) and volunteer non-help-seekers (N=58). Found depression among 46 percent of help-seekers and 18 percent of non-help-seekers. Found women more depressed than men but no major differences in depression for those caring for more impaired persons. (Author/CM)

Studied effects on family caregivers (N=208) of frail elderly persons of eight-week professionally guided caregiver support group program to reduce anxiety, depression, and sense of burden. Found significant reductions immediately after intervention and continued but weaker effects four months later. (Author/CM)