LIFE-STYLE CHANGES AND COPING PATTERNS AMONG CAREGIVERS OF STROKE SURVIVORS

Although caregiving has been a major focus for research, little is kno wn about the day-to-day changes in lifestyle faced by caregivers. Yet lifestyle, developed over time, manifests an individual's very identit y. Using a multimethod approach, we assessed the perceptions of lifest yle changes and coping patterns of 20 caregivers of first-time stroke survivors in the early poststroke period. An outcome-oriented matrix w as employed for qualitative analysis, and findings were expanded by ad ditional quantitative analysis. Three themes emerged: pervasiveness of lifestyle change, cohort differences in the perception of lifestyle c hange and coping patterns, and primary issues of time and confinement. Findings suggest that strains relative to caregiving may not be confi ned to direct caregiving activities, but may be related to established patterns of daily life.