Centre for Policy on Ageing



Peer support for Alzheimer's caregivers — is it enough to make a difference?
Author(s)	Karl Pillemer, J Jill Suitor
Journal title	Research on Aging, vol 24, no 2, March 2002
Pages	pp 171-192
Keywords	Dementia ; Family care ; Social contacts ; Personal relationships ; United States of America.
Annotation	Theory and empirical research on life-course transitions and social support suggest that support from an experientially similar peer (i.e. person who has undergone the same stressful transition) will lead to positive outcomes for caregivers. Accordingly, this study tested a social support enhancement intervention for caregivers to relatives with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The intervention differed from previous programmes for caregivers, in that it isolated social support enhancement as the intervention mechanism, without simultaneously providing education, counselling or direct services. Using a randomised, control group design, no main effects were found. At the level of interactions, a modest buffering effect was found for those in more stressful caregiving situations. However, the overall pattern of the results suggests that social support alone is not a sufficient intervention to improve the experience of caregivers. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-020416244 A
Classmark	EA: P6:SJ: TOA: DS: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.