Stress reduction for family caregivers: Effects of adult day care use

Citation Zarit, S., Stephens, M., Townsend, A. & Greene, R. (1998). Stress reduction for family caregivers: Effects of adult day care use. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 53B(5), S267-S277.

Design Quasi-experimental design

Participants The participants of this study were n=121 caregivers of dementia patients in the treatment group and n=203 in the control group

Outcome / Dependent Variables 23-items used to assess appraisals of primary stressors (in parentheses, the scales used are mentioned): Role Captivity (Pearlin), Overload (Pearlin & new), Worry & strain, Depression (CES-D), Anger (Brief Symptom Inventory, and Pearlin), Positive affect (Positive & negative affect schedule).

Procedure The treatment group used substantial amounts of day care (2 days per week). The gontrol group did not use adult day care services at all.

Outcomes Results after 3 months of day care use showed that the treatment group had significantly lower scores than the control group on 2 of the 3 measures of primary appraisals (overload and strain) and 2 of the 3 measures of well-being (depression and anger). Findings at 1-year showed that the treatment group had significantly lower scores on overload and depression than the control group. Caregivers of relative with dementia who use adult day care experience lower levels of caregiving-related stress and better psychological well-being than a control group not using this service.

Author Zarit, S., Stephens, M., Townsend, A. & Greene, R.