The Gerontologist, Vol 30, Issue 5 583-594, Copyright © 1990 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Caregiving and the stress process: an overview of concepts and their measures

LI Pearlin, JT Mullan, SJ Semple and MM Skaff
Human Development and Aging Program, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0848.

This paper views caregiver stress as a consequence of a process comprising a number of interrelated conditions, including the socioeconomic characteristics and resources of caregivers and the primary and secondary stressors to which they are exposed. Primary stressors are hardships and problems anchored directly in caregiving. Secondary stressors fall into two categories: the strains experienced in roles and activities outside of caregiving, and intrapsychic strains, involving the diminishment of self-concepts. Coping and social support can potentially intervene at multiple points along the stress process.

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