Caregiving burden of family caregivers of substance-addicted people in Turkey.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the caregiving burden (CB) and the determinants of burden among family members of substance-addicted people.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The sample of this cross-sectional research was 128 informal family caregivers of substance-addicted people. We collected data by using the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) assessing subjective burden.

FINDINGS

Mean ZBI score was 52.2. The regression analysis showed that ZBI mean score was higher in female caregivers and caregivers with lower education, poor economic status, and longer caregiving duration. There was an inverse relationship between the addict's age and the CB.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The predictors of CB may assist in setting caregivers at greater risk of CB as targets for the intervention.