Over two decades of research has demonstrated that family caregivers are at elevated risk of a number of negative outcomes, including psychological distress, physical illness, and economic strain, and in turn to disruptions in social relationships. Social support interventions have been seen as a primary response to preventing, postponing, or reversing these negative sequelae of caregiving. Despite this potential, there is a paucity of rigorous evaluation research on such interventions. The proposed project will evaluate different modes of delivering social support interventions for family caregivers to relatives with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other irreversible dementia. The project is grounded in theory and empirical research on status transitions and their impact on interpersonal relationships. This literature suggests that increasing the number of social network members who have undergone the same stressful situation (in this case, caring for an elderly relative) will lead to increased well-being among caregivers. The study will advance knowledge in this area by employing a) a strong theoretical grounding for the intervention: b) a randomized control-group design; c) reliable and valid outcome measures that are closely related to the goals of the intervention; d) a descriptive process component; and e) longitudinal follow-up. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with practitioners, and results will be widely disseminated. This design will allow exploration of the following research questions: 1. Does increasing the number of caregivers in an individual's network lead to positive outcomes? 2. Does the effectiveness of the program differ according to whether it is delivered in a group or dyadic setting? 3. Is the effectiveness of this intervention related to the structure of the individual's preexisting social network? Is the effectiveness of this intervention affected by the degree of stress of the caregiving situation? 5. Does the effectiveness of the intervention differ in rural and nonrural settings?
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