title: Caregiver burden and alcohol use in a community sample.
abstract: Little attention has been paid to the relationship between caregiver burden and alcohol use. It is important to examine the particular aspects of caregiver burden that most influence alcohol use. A mail survey was conducted using a representative sample of 998 employed Chicago residents who provided informal care for at least one person. Ordinary least squares regression models were computed to examine the relationship between caregiver burden and drinking outcomes. Findings suggest that caregivers who experience social and emotional burdens related to caregiving are at risk for problematic alcohol use and warrant attention from health care and mental health service professionals.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Institute, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. krospenda@psych.uic.edu
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Rospenda
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Minich
authors.forename: Lauren A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Milner
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Richman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002641:Chicago; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors