GENDER-ROLES AND CAREGIVING STRESS - AN EXAMINATION OF SUBJECTIVE APPRAISALS OF SPECIFIC PRIMARY STRESSORS IN ALZHEIMERS CAREGIVERS

Family caregivers of patients with dementia face numerous, severe stre ssors in the course of caring for their relatives. While women are mor e likely than men to take on the caregiving role, evidence is mixed co ncerning how traditional gender roles influence response to caregiving . In the present study, male (n = 67) and female (n = 130) primary car egivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease reported on their apprais als of the subjective stressfulness of 44 common primary caregiving st ressors, including patient memory and behavior problems and self-care deficits. Male and female caregivers did not differ in length of careg iving service or hours per week spent in caring for their relatives, a nd there were no differences in terms of overall impairment in patient s cared for by males and females. Males and females showed no differen ces in their stressfulness appraisals of any of the 44 primary caregiv ing stressors. Memory and self-care deficits, while relatively common, were rated as less stressful by male and female caregivers than behav ioral problems. It appears that in the context of caregiving in Alzhei mer's disease, gender roles may be less important than the nature of t he stressor in determining reaction to primary stressors. Intervention s to alleviate caregiver distress should target behavioral problems, s uch as dangerous behavior and agitation, which are most stressful to c aregivers.