Social support has been shown to buffer the relationship between life stress and psychological distress in late life. However, little attention has been paid to personality variables that are associated with the capacity to effectively utilize social support. Although the buffering effects of social support were replicated in our sample of 134…

Few studies have examined how raising grandchildren influences the marital relationship of grandparent caregivers although half of such caregivers are married. This study used national survey data from Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) to contrast perceptions of spousal support and strain for grandparents who had recently provided…

Surveyed 409 caregivers. Found primary correlates of caregiver burden related to levels and types of impairment in patient functioning, caregiver life satisfaction, social support. Each category of caregiver circumstances had unique set of correlates with total amount of variance explained in burden ranging from 25 percent (husbands living with…

Investigated adult development of police officers compared to the development of subjects in Daniel Levinson's study. Interviews with 23 male police officers indicated that their lives generally corresponded to Levinson's theory. The nature of subjects' psychosocial stages was similar to Levinson's model for some age periods, but not all.…

Tested model representing hypothesis that perceived control mediates objective and subjective aspects of caregiving and caregiver adaptation. Findings from 60 elderly family caregivers revealed that perceived control had direct relationship with life satisfaction and depression and indirect relationship with subjective symptoms of stress. Wishful…

Investigated the life satisfaction and death anxiety of elderly women (N=60) as a function of demographic, life history, and stress variables. Through multiple regression, life satisfaction was predicted by number of friends, good health, and, surprisingly, by having fewer offspring living in the same city. (Author)

Examined how older lawyers function in a high stress occupation using data from a random stratified sample of (N=130) lawyers. Results indicated that elderly lawyers are able to reduce work stress by control over the quantity of work, focus, and client selection. (Author/RC)

In this investigation of 133 grandparents with primary responsibility for their grandchildren, we examined the potential moderating role of social support in the association between caregiver stressors and grandparents' general well-being. Enacted formal support buffered the association between grandchild health problems and both grandparent…