ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part focuses on individual caregivers and their relationships to others in the family, especially relationships with the care-recipient. It offers a cognitive interpersonal formulation of stress and coping, which integrates the cognitive factors of an individual within that individual’s social context. The part discusses two basic types of interventions designed to enhance the coping skills of caregivers: psychoeducational interventions aimed at improving and enhancing the personal resources of caregivers by modifying coping patterns and facilitating supportive relationships and respite programs, which are interventions aimed at providing resources to relieve caregivers. It also focuses on interventions that have been developed to enhance the coping skills of caregivers and describes several methodological issues involved in evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions. The part examines several important limitations of research on caregiving families and institutional placement and also offers insightful suggestions for their solution.
