Centre for Policy on Ageing



When primary and secondary caregivers disagree — predictors and psychosocial consequences
Author(s)	Michelle S Bourgeois, Scott Beach, Richard Schulz
Journal title	Psychology and Aging, vol 11, no 3, September 1996
Pages	pp 527-537
Keywords	Dementia ; Informal care ; Married couples ; The Family ; Friends ; Psychology [care] ; Stress.
Annotation	This study investigates primary caregiving spouses' and their lay helpers' divergent opinions about the caregiving environment. Through parallel assessments, both primary and secondary caregivers of a patient with Alzheimer's disease were asked to rate the degree of problem behaviour; the degree of strain experienced by primary caregiver; and caregiver efficacy or perceived ability to cope with caregiving demands. Analyses concentrated on areas of disagreement, their predictors and consequences. Results revealed a substantial divergence in perceptions across caregiving domains, with relatively little disagreement about problem behaviours and primary caregiver strain, than about primary caregiver coping. Primary caregivers with relatively pessimistic secondary caregivers experienced relatively less psychosocial distress than primary caregivers with more optimistic helpers. These findings were strongest among female-female caregiver pairings.
Accession Number	CPA-971120217 A
Classmark	EA: P6: SM: SJ: SX: QN: QNH
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.