The authors examined over time the relationship between characteristics of the family caregiving system for older persons with Alzheimer's disease and the health of 136 adult offspring who were involved in care. The goal was to determine if family and offspring health relationships found at point of initial patient evaluation (T1) remained consistent over a 12-month period (T2) and if qualities of the family environment assessed at T1 predicted a change in offspring health and well-being as the demands for care increased over time. Offspring carehours, gender, education, distress, and patient severity (Step I); measures of family functioning (Step II); and family by distress interaction terms (Step III) were used to predict offspring health and well-being at T2. Findings indicated that (a) family characteristics associated with offspring health at T1 displayed consistent predictions of health over time and (b) family emotion management variables predicted a reduction in offspring health scores by T2. These data document the ongoing effects of the family context of care and suggest the family setting as a target for intervention.
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Fisher et al. (1996) studied this question.
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