Depressive Symptoms in Family Caregivers of Long-stay Patients1

Factors contributing to depressive symptoms in a group of 67 family caregivers of hospitalized "long-stay" patients were investigated. Levels of depressive symptoms were quite high and were related to level of patient dependency, caregiver's health, feeling too many demands were being made on the caregiver, feeling torn between the patient's needs and the caregiver's own needs, not getting enough rest, amount of time spent in caregiving activities, feeling someone else could take over caregiving if necessary, and perceptions of staff. The factors contributing to depressive symptoms differed among spouses, children and other caregivers, but for all the strongest contributor was experiencing difficulty with staff.