Associations of stressors and uplifts of caregiving with caregiver burden and depressive mood: a meta- analysis

In the present meta-analysis, we integrated findings from 228 studies on the association of six caregiving-related stressors and caregiving uplifts with burden and depressed mood. Care recipients' behavior problems showed stronger associations with caregiver outcomes than other stressors did. The size of the relationships varied by sample characteristics: Amount of care provided and care receivers' physical impairments were less strongly related to burden and depression for dementia caregivers than for caregivers of nondemented older adults. For spouse caregivers, physical impairments and care recipients' behavior problems had a stronger relationship to burden than for adult children. Furthermore, we found evidence that the association of caregiver burden with the number of caregiving tasks, perceived uplifts of caregiving, and the level of physical impairment of the care receiver were stronger in probability samples than in convenience samples.