Centre for Policy on Ageing



The relationship between illness attributions and caregiver burden — a cross-cultural analysis
Author(s)	Becca Levy, Jennifer Hillygus, Ben Lui
Journal title	Journal of Mental Health and Aging, vol 6 no 3, Fall 2000
Pages	pp 213-226
Keywords	Dementia ; Symptoms ; Informal care ; Stress ; Cross cultural surveys ; United States of America.
Annotation	Little is known about the nature of thinking associated with caregiver burden. In this study, the authors examined the quantity and types of illness attributions that correlate with caregiver burden. Interviews with caregivers of family members with dementia were analysed for content. Participants were from three minority ethnic groups and a white comparison group. Despite cultural differences in the content of the attributes, caregivers from all four groups felt less burdened if they attributed the dementia to fewer causes, causes that are temporary (e.g. a high-fat diet), and causes that are outside the person with dementia (e.g. medical malpractice). Their findings extended the attribution literature by identifying the type of explanatory style associated with caregiver burden. In addition, these results suggest that to reduce burden, health care providers - as well as caregivers - should explore patterns of illness attributions. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-010131204 A
Classmark	EA: CT: P6: QNH: 3KA: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.