EFFECTS OF THE SITUATIONAL CONTEXT AND INTERACTIONAL PROCESS ON THE QUALITY OF FAMILY CAREGIVING

A staged theoretical model designed to explain the quality of elder ca ring by family members was tested. The model posits how the situationa l context, interactional process, and caregiving burden perceived by t he caregiver affect the quality of elder caring. The purpose was to de termine the amount of variance explained by the interactional process beyond that explained by the situational context and caregiving burden . Data were collected from 209 elder-caregiver dyads using interviews, observations, and caregiver self-reports. The strongest predictors of caregiving burden were the caregiver's stressful negative life events (situational context) and discrepancy between past and present image of elder (interactional process). The strongest predictors of quality of elder caring were the caregiver's perception of subjective burden a nd a monitoring role definition on the part of the caregiver (interact ional process). (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.