The short- and long-term effectiveness of professionally-led and self-help support groups will be evaluated for their ability to prevent psychiatric symptoms from occurring among married adult women 40 to 60 years old with children at home, who are experiencing stress from caring for a disabled parent at home. Also investigated will be the curative factors in the groups that contribute to effective outcomes, as well as the care receivers. The two types of experimental support groups will be compared to each other by using a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design with an added no-intervention control condition. The 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design will control for the effects of leadership and time of intervention (two periods of assignment of Ss to the three conditions). Participants (108Ss) will be randomly assigned to a total of 4, 9 member groups in each intervention condition (3Ss) or to a no-intervention control condition (36Ss). Groups will meet weekly in 6 2-hour sessions. Potential Ss will be screened to include in the study only caregivers who are not mentally impaired, who perceive their care-giving burden as stressful, and who are caring for a family member with at least one severe functional disability. Potential Ss who have been in groups for caregivers will be excluded. Assessment measures will be administered to all caregivers before the first group meeting, within 1 week of the sixth group meeting, and then again at 6 months and 1 year. In addition, all group participants will evaluate curative factors in their group experience immediately following the sixth group meeting, and trained judges will rate audiotapes of each group meeting to assess group-as-a-whole factors that contribute to successful outcomes. This study can make significant contributions by: 1) employing a well controlled design to test the effectiveness of group intervention in preventing psychiatric symptoms among caregivers, 2) investigating the extent to which group intervention has an impact on care receivers, 3) providing a well controlled comparison of self-help and professional intervention in groups for caregivers who are at risk for mental health problems, and 4) expanding the limited body of existing knowledge about curative factors that contribute to effective group interventions.
| Toseland, R W; Rossiter, C M; Peak, T et al. (1990) Therapeutic processes in peer led and professionally led support groups for caregivers. Int J Group Psychother 40:279-303 |
| Toseland, R W; Rossiter, C M; Labrecque, M S (1989) The effectiveness of three group intervention strategies to support family caregivers. Am J Orthopsychiatry 59:420-9 |
| Toseland, R W; Rossiter, C M (1989) Group interventions to support family caregivers: a review and analysis. Gerontologist 29:438-48 |
| Toseland, R W; Rossiter, C M; Labrecque, M S (1989) The effectiveness of peer-led and professionally led groups to support family caregivers. Gerontologist 29:465-71 |
