TYPOLOGIES OF CAREGIVING FAMILIES - FAMILY CONGRUENCE AND INDIVIDUAL WELL-BEING

Data from 252 female primary caregivers, their husbands, and children living in multigenerational households were used to create family typo logies based on the extent of similarity among reports of elder behavi ors. Analysis of variance indicates that families characterized by hig h agreement and those characterized by low agreement were significantl y different from one another on a number of dimensions. When the relat ionship between caregiver-reported stressors and mental health was exa mined as a function of family typology, results indicate that for high agreement families there were significant correlations between the ca regiver's report of the elder's behaviors and her burden; satisfaction with caregiving; relationships with her husband, child, and elder; an d depression. Similar relationships characterize data reported by husb ands and children in high agreement families. For families characteriz ed by low agreement, the majority of these relationships were not sign ificant.