Stresses and Satisfactions of Family Caregivers to Older Stroke Patients

This research investigated the daily stresses (hassles) and satisfactions (uplifts) reported by 78 family members caring for a relative who had recently experienced a stroke. Four domains of hassles and uplifts were examined for their direct effects on three indices of caregiver well-being (caregivers' social activities, social relationships, depression), as well as for the protective effects of uplifts on well-being. Caregivers reported more uplifts than hassles, and care-recipient characteristics were stronger predictors of both hassles and uplifts than were caregiver characteristics. Hassles demonstrated the strongest associations with well-being, with caregivers who reported more hassles also reporting lower levels of well-being. Although uplifts failed to demonstrate consistent direct assoctations with well-being, when the net effects of appraisals were positive (that is, when caregiving uplifts outweighed caregiving hassles), caregivers reported lower levels of distress. Results concerning the prote...