Differences in familism values and caregiving outcomes among Korean, Korean American, and White American dementia caregivers

Recent theories have suggested that burden and distress among dementia care givers may be higher in American culture, which emphasizes individualism, a nd lower in cultures with higher levels of familism. However, immigrants ma y experience higher levels of burden because of acculturation with attendan t values. conflicts and stresses. Forty-four Korean caregivers and 32 Korea n American caregivers were compared with 54 White American caregivers on so ciodemographic variables, familism, burden, anxiety, and depression. Famili sm was highest in Korean caregivers and lowest in Whites, with Korean Ameri cans in the middle. Koreans and Korean Americans reported higher levels of burden. Koreans showed higher levels of depression and of anxiety than Whit e American caregivers, with Koreans and Korean Americans higher than Whites on anxiety. These results suggest a need for greater specificity in theori es about familism values, with attention to the specific meaning of familis m in different cultures.