Caregiving Strain and the Desire to Institutionalize Family Members with Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

This research explores whether the strain experienced by caregivers of relatives with Alzheimer's disease will be strongly related to the desire of families to institutionalize their older members. The desire of a caregiver to institutionalize a patient with Alzheimer's disease was found to be greater when the caregiver experiences increased strain or burden, when a patient is widowed, when there is more physical labor involved in caregiving tasks, and when the patient lives alone. Intensity of family strain (or felt stress) can best be predicted by the availability to the caregiver of social support: Less support implies more strain. However, for male caregiving groups and for all black caregivers, strain does not play a significant role in predicting the desire to institutionalize.