A daily experience survey instrument was used to distinguish patterns of stress in a group of elderly individuals providing home care to a spouse or parent with Alzheimer's disease and a comparison group of elderly non-caregivers. It was found that life circumstances influenced stress perception in daily life. Caregivers and noncaregivers differed in the types of experiences they endorsed as routines, uplifts, challenges, and hassles, and in the impact ratings associated with them in consistent and interpretable ways.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
KannerA. D.CoyneJ. C.SchaeferC., and LazarusR. S., Comparison of Two Modes of Stress Measurement: Daily Hassles and Uplifts versus Major Life Events, Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, pp. 1–39, 1981.
2.
DelongisA.CoyneJ. C.DakofG.FolkmanS., and LazarusR. S., Relationship of Daily Hassles, Uplifts, and Major Life Events to Health Status, Health Psychology, 1, pp. 119–136, 1982.
3.
FioreJ.BeckerJ., and CoppelD. B., Social Network Interaction: A Buffer or a Stress, American Journal of Community Psychology, 11, pp. 423–439, 1983.
4.
HolahanC. K.HolahanC. J., and BelkS. S., Adjustment in Aging: The Roles of Life, Stress, Hassles, and Self-efficacy, Health Psychology, 3, pp. 315–328, 1984.
5.
PagelM. D.ErdlyW. W., and BeckerJ., Social Networks: We get by with (and in spite of) a Little Help from our Friends, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, pp. 793–804, 1987.
6.
RookK. S., The Negative Side of Social Interaction: Impact on Psychological Well-being, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, pp. 1097–1108, 1984.
7.
WallstenS. M. and SnyderS., A Comparison of Elderly Family Caregivers' and Noncaregivers' Perceptions of Stress in Daily Experiences, Journal of Community Psychology, 18, pp. 228–238, 1990.
8.
PearlinL. I.LiebermanM. A.MehaghanE. G., and MullanJ. T., The Stress Process, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, pp. 337–356, 1981.
9.
DelongisA.FolkmanS., and LazarusR. S., The Impact of Daily Stress on Health and Mood: Psychological and Social Resources as Mediators, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, pp. 486–495, 1988.
10.
LazarusR. S. and FolkmanS., Stress, Appraisal, and Coping, Springer, New York, 1984.
11.
WallstenS. M., Interactive Factors in Stress: Difference between Caregivers' and Noncaregivers' Perceptions of Stress in Daily Experiences, unpublished doctoral dissertation: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1987.
12.
DerogatisL. R.LipmanR. S.RickelsK.UhlenhuthE. H., and CoviL., The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL): A Self-report Symptom Inventory, Behavioral Science, 19, pp. 1–15, 1974.
