STRESSES AND SATISFACTIONS OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS TO OLDER STROKE PATIENTS

This research investigated the daily stresses (hassles) and satisfacti ons (uplifts) reported by 78 family members caring for a relative who had recently experienced a stroke. Four domains of hassles and uplifts were examined for their direct effects on three indices of caregiver well-being (caregivers' social activities, social relationships, depre ssion), as well as for the protective effects of uplifts on well-being . Caregivers reported more uplifts than hassles, and care-recipient ch aracteristics were stronger predictors of both hassles and uplifts tha n were caregiver characteristics. Hassles demonstrated the strongest a ssociations with well-being, with caregivers who reported more hassles also reporting lower levels of well-being. Although uplifts failed to demonstrate consistent direct associations with well-being, when the net effects of appraisals were positive (that is, when caregiving upli fts outweighed caregiving hassles), caregivers reported lower levels o f distress. Results concerning the protective effects of uplifts are c onsistent with transactional models of stress.