Social support and caregiving circumstances as predictors of caregiver burden in Taiwan.

Previous research has failed to consider the importance of caregiving circumstances and their impact on social support and caregiver burden. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the association between perceived and received social support and caregiver burden. This cross-sectional study was carried out on 301 family caregivers. Data was collected using structured questionnaires which included a Social Support Scale, Family APGAR (adaptation, partnership, growth, affection, resolve), and Caregiver Burden Scale. Findings showed that the caregiver burden was best predicted by two perceived and one received social support variables. Caregiver burden was likely to be higher when the caregivers had lower levels of family function and social support. Perceived social support was better at predicting caregiver burden than received social support. Our study indicates that family function has an important influence on caregiver burden. Further studies on family based interventions are needed to determine approaches for effectively reducing caregiver burden. The role of perceived social support in the health of caregivers should be further investigated as a possible protective determinant in the caring process.