The impact of elder health, caregiver involvement, and global stress on two dimensions of caregiver burden.
This study examined the simultaneous effects of an elder's health, caregiver involvement, and stress on caregiver burden, addressing the questions: (a) What are the direct and indirect effects of level of elder's impairment, caregiver involvement, and stress on personal and interpersonal burden? (b) How do these relationships differ between spouse and adult-child caregivers? Data were from the 1982 National Long Term Care Survey. Results using linear structural relations analysis showed the effect of a frail elder's health and functioning on personal and interpersonal burden is mediated by task involvement and perceived global stress. Contrary to expectation, there were few differences in the direct effect of each dimension of health, functional limitations, cognitive status, and global health rating on each dimension of burden. Although the results suggested mean differences between spouse and adult child caregivers on key variables, there were no differences by family relationship in the system of relationships that comprise the process linking health and burden.
Miller
B
B
Department of Medical Social Work, University of Illinois, Chicago.
McFall
S
S
Montgomery
A
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008568:Memory; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012648:Self Care; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*