Predictors of social support and caregiver outcomes

Purpose: This Study identified predictors of caregiver's burden. satisfacti on, depression, and social support. Little has been done to identify predic tors of social support for caregivers at risk for negative outcomes. Design: Correlational descriptive study. Methods: A subset of interview data from a larger intervention study was ut ilized. Independent variables were caregiver/care-recipient characteristics and social support. Dependent variables included caregiver burden, satisfa ction, depression, anxiety, and hostility. Results: Eighty-one caregiver/care-recipient dyads from the community parti cipated in this study. Caregivers were women with a mean age or 67.53 years (range 39-86). Difficulty arranging assistance from confidante or friends correlated significantly and positively with caregiver burden (r = .38; p < .001) and depression (r = .34; p = .002), and negatively with satisfaction (r = -.28; p = .0 13). Findings/Implications: Arranging assistance is more important than frequenc y of social network contact with respect to burden and depression. The find ings indicate a need for further investigation and the consideration of int erventions for at risk caregivers. (C) 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.