Factors associated with burden in primary caregivers of mentally ill patients

The objectives of this study are to describe caregivers' subjective burden and to identify the predictors of burden in primary caregivers of mentally ill outpatients recruited from eight hospitals in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Patient and primary caregiver variables, were regressed on perceived burde n using hierarchical regression analysis. The variables describing the pati ent's current state contributed the most to explaining variance in subjecti ve burden. The variables related to psychiatric history and to outpatient t reatment also explained a significant proportion of the variance in the bur den scores. Better understanding of the factors associated with subjective burden will enable researchers and practitioners to identify those caregive rs that are at greater risk for higher levels of burden, and to develop mor e focused and appropriate interventions. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.