The caregiver stress process and health outcomes.

Objective: The authors examine the impact of two caregiving stressors, care receivers' behavior problems (an objective stressor) and caregivers' feelings of overload (a subjective stressor), on three dimensions of caregiver health.

Method: The participants were 234 primary caregivers of elderly relatives with dementia living in the community who completed a comprehensive interview about their current care situation, including stressors and health.

Results: Higher levels of both objective and subjective stressors were associated with all three dimensions of caregiver health: poorer self-reported health, more negative health behaviors, and greater use of health care services.

Biobehavioral correlates of relocation in the frail elderly: salivary cortisol, affect, and cognitive function.

Objectives: To examine affect and physiological stress in frail older adults in response to a voluntary nursing home relocation.

Design: Randomized, controlled trial.

Setting: Long-term care facility located within the greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, community.