EXAMINATION OF STRESS LEVELS IN CAREGIVERS TO ELDERLY.
Contributors: Pepperdine University.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 170
Subjects: Education, Administration.; Gerontology.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Statement of the problem. Americans are living longer than ever before. Due to this increase in longevity, middle-aged and elderly people have become caregivers to elderly. Most caregivers are the children or spouses of the care recipient.

Since caregiving can be time consuming and extremely stressful, the problem of caregiving has the potential of negatively affecting American business. If an employee is under stress caused by caregiving, he/she is unable to give full attention to the job.

Procedure. This study was concerned with caregiver stress which is created by the time commitment of the caregiver outside the home, finances necessary for effective caregiving, and the effect of the state of health of the care recipient.

Six caregiver support group meetings were attended by the researcher. Notes on these meetings were taken and analyzed. The researcher asked for volunteers to be interviewed. Four women agreed; and the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed.

Data received from questionnaires were analyzed with the use of multiple regression to identify which variables would be the best predictor of caregiver stress. An optional comment sheet was also attached to the questionnaire, and the data from these sheets were reduced and analyzed.

Findings. The data received had varying results. The observations showed that the variables of the study were discussed during these meetings--leading the researcher to believe that these variables would be significant to the study.

The interviews provided information on the three variables of the study, because the questions were geared toward the variables. None of the interviewees saw finances as an immediate problem, while all were concerned with the failing health of the care recipient and the huge time commitment involved in caregiving. The three variables were also described on the optional comment sheets.

When the results of the questionnaires were analyzed, it was found that none of the variables was significant at the.05 level of confidence, indicating that perhaps the major variable causing stress to caregivers had not been identified or that the sample was too small. Perhaps the variables examined were just part of a caregiver stress syndrome.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-02, Section: A, page: 0316.

Thesis (ED.D.)--PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY, 1988.

School code: 6009.