Concept and models for the study of caregiver burden

Families caring for a mentally ill member experience various degrees of burden. The concept of burden has been studied over the centuries and is seen primarily as an obligation which entails a cost. In very few cases burden has been seen positively. The present article explores the concept of burden as it is presented in the literature, addresses the categories of strain that families caring for mentally ill relatives experience, and presents four models for the study of caregiver burden. Copyright © 1994, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve

Informal care in social context: A social psychological analysis of participation, impact and intervention in care of the elderly

Concern about the provision and effects of care to elderly people by unpaid family, relatives and friends has arisen in the contexts of changing demographic structures of populations and, in Britain at least, explicit policy by Government which seeks to promote familial responsibility for the financial, physical and emotional needs of elderly populations. The present review examines the extent and nature of informal care to elderly people, assesses the evidence to support sociological models of care work participation and the extent to which such models are reflected in beliefs concerning care of elderly people and intentions to cease direct provision of care. Studies of the psychological impacts of care work and of interventions to modify carer wellbeing are critically reviewed. It is suggested that future psychological research should focus on modeling the modifiable psychological processes which explain variance in care work participation, impact and uptake of services, and on the impacts of changing social policy on social perception and wellbeing of elderly people