Symptoms of psychological distress among caregivers of dementia patients.

Nine subscales of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were examined for caregivers of dementia patients. Caregivers (N = 184) were divided into groups on the basis of age (less than or equal to 59 and 60+ ) and gender. Their scores were compared with age-matched norms. All of the caregiving groups were significantly elevated on the Hostility subscale. Both younger and older women scored higher than the norms on the Anxiety subscale, and the older women were significantly elevated on three other subscales as well. The Anxiety and Hostility subscales of the BSI were most strongly correlated with the Burden Interview, a measure of the demands imposed by caregiving activities. This relation between burden and symptomatology highlights the stressful nature of caregiving.