Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 51, Issue 3 S121-S131, Copyright © 1996 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

The moderating influence of service use on negative caregiving consequences

DM Bass, LS Noelker and LR Rechlin
Margaret Blenkner Research Center, Benjamin Rose Institute, Cleveland, Ohio USA.

This investigation adapts the social support conceptual framework to examine the moderating influence of community service use by impaired older persons on the negative consequences of caregiving for informal helpers. The model is modified by defining services as a type of social support that can counteract the stress associated with various care recipient impairments. Results from multivariate analyses of data from 401 caregivers suggest that certain services for care recipients can reduce the adverse effects of certain impairments on informal caregivers. The use of health care service by care recipients who are more disabled is related to lower levels of caregiver depression, health deterioration, and social isolation. Personal care service use consistently offsets the negative effects of care recipients' behavioral problems. Additionally, the use of household service when care recipients exhibit behavioral problems is associated with lower levels of caregiver depression.

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