Chumbler Neale R, Grimm James W, Cody Marisue, Beck Cornelia
Rehabilitation Outcomes Research Center, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, and Department of Health Services Administration, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32608-1197, USA.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2003 Aug;18(8):722-32. doi: 10.1002/gps.912.
This study examined whether there were gender and kinship (spouse, child, more distant relative) differences in caregiver burden. It further examined the constellation of gender and kinship by examining whether adult daughter caregivers experienced greater burden compared to wives, husbands, sons, and other more distant relatives.
The sample consisted of 305 family caregivers of memory-impaired individuals who were age 70 years or older and resided in non-institutional settings in Arkansas. A cross-sectional design was employed using validated measures to assess both the memory-impaired elders' and family caregivers' self-reported physical and memory status.
After controlling for the age and health status characteristics of the memory-impaired elder, sociodemographic and health status characteristics of the family caregiver, and the caregiver coping response (measured by the sense of coherence), multiple regression analyses found kinship, but not gender differences in caregiver burden. Adult children experienced more caregiver burden than more distant relatives. There were no significant differences in caregiver burden between adult children and spouses. Adult daughters had greater caregiver burden scores compared to more distant relatives, but had comparable scores to wives, sons, and husbands. Other significant correlates of burden included caregiver personal characteristics (age and ethnicity) and the sense of coherence.
The study discusses the practice implications of adult children and adult daughters' propensity to suffer burden when caring for their memory-impaired parents living in the community. It also discusses the relevance of caregiver personal characteristics and the sense of coherence as correlates of burden.
本研究调查了照顾者负担在性别和亲属关系（配偶、子女、更远的亲属）方面是否存在差异。通过研究成年女性照顾者与妻子、丈夫、儿子及其他更远亲属相比是否承受更大负担，进一步探讨了性别与亲属关系的组合情况。
样本包括305名70岁及以上、居住在阿肯色州非机构环境中的记忆力受损个体的家庭照顾者。采用横断面设计，使用经过验证的测量方法来评估记忆力受损老年人及家庭照顾者自我报告的身体和记忆状况。
在控制了记忆力受损老年人的年龄和健康状况特征、家庭照顾者的社会人口统计学和健康状况特征以及照顾者应对反应（通过连贯感来衡量）后，多元回归分析发现照顾者负担存在亲属关系差异，但不存在性别差异。成年子女比更远的亲属承受更多照顾者负担。成年子女与配偶在照顾者负担方面没有显著差异。与更远的亲属相比，成年女性照顾者的负担得分更高，但与妻子、儿子和丈夫的得分相当。负担的其他显著相关因素包括照顾者个人特征（年龄和种族）以及连贯感。
该研究讨论了成年子女和成年女性照顾者在照顾社区中记忆力受损父母时易承受负担的实际意义。还讨论了照顾者个人特征和连贯感作为负担相关因素的相关性。
