Ethnic differences in the expression of caregiver burden: Results of a qualitative study

African American caregivers regularly report less burden than their White c ounterparts. Less is known about levels of burden among Puerto Rican caregi vers. Yet both of these ethnic minority groups tend to provide more hours o f care to their elders, mostly due to higher levels of functional disabilit y among ethnic minority elders. A qualitative study was undertaken to detec t differences in the way caregivers in three ethnic groups (African America n, Puerto Rican and White) describe their experiences with and reactions to caregiving. Caregivers were selected from the larger sample of the Springf ield Elder Project, a study of a population-based sample of older adults an d their caregivers. Ethnic and gender differences were detected both in how caregivers in the three groups describe the caregiving experience and how they cope with it. White females, and African American and Puerto Rican mal es expressed feelings of frustration and anger during difficult times in th eir caregiving situations. Women, particularly African Americans and Puerto Ricans, used somatic complaints as outlets for those feelings. In addition , African American caregivers described their caregiving as an extremely ti me-consuming activity. Puerto Rican female caregivers described their careg iving situation as one which fostered social isolation. Resignation, denial , respect and faith in religion were ways these caregivers dealt with the b urden of their caregiving responsibilities. These findings suggest that Afr ican American and Puerto Rican caregivers are experiencing burden, but expr essing it in different ways than White caregivers and that available measur es of caregiver burden do not adequately measure the impact of caregiving o n minority caregivers.