Carer distress in the general population: results from the Sydney Older Persons Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess distress in a sample of carers who were selected from a community survey rather than recruited via community-service agencies. METHODS: A community survey was carried out on 630 people aged 75 or over living in Sydney, Australia. Informants nominated by these elderly people were divided into full carer (n = 21), partial carer (n = 187) and non-carer groups (n = 344). Informants completed the General Health Questionnaire (a continuous measure of psychiatric symptoms), the life satisfaction index (a measure of well-being) and the interpersonal bonding measure (a measure of quality of the relationship with the elderly person). Elderly participants had a medical examination,..