I ' ! vi. FAMILY CAREGIVERS AND BURDEN: A DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

The perceptions of burden in providing care to thedisabled elderly by a family member may be affected by the caregiver's personal and social resources and by the differences in involvement and familial roles between the caregiver and the care receiver. To test this relationship, 41 spouse and adult daughter caregivers involved in a home-based treatment program completed the29-item Zarit Burden Interview and a checklist of their participationlevel in 10 caregiving tasks, and rated the incidence and severity ofthe care receiver's specific behavioral problems. Adult children caregivers reported sources of burden which were outside the caregiver/care receiver relationship, with major stressors being theinfluence of concurrent role demands and financial strain. Spouse caregivers, on the other hand, reported sources of stress within the caregiving relationship, with major burdens being personal functioning, especially in direct caregiving tasks, and interpersonal relationships with the disabled spouse. These findings suggest that fundamental differences exist in how elderly spouses and adultdaughters define and perceive their roles as primary caregivers. (ABB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document.