The perceived stress model of caregiver burden: Evidence from spouses of persons with brain injuries

The development of the Perceived Stress Model of Caregiver Burden (PSB) is described, based on data from 135 spouse caregivers of persons with brain injuries. A theoretical model based on an integration of stress theory and the findings of previous burden research was tested, using structural equations analysis, against an atheoretical model containing relationships among variables previously reported in the burden literature. The initial theoretical model was not an adequate fit to the data. The atheoretical model did not fit the data by chi-square criteria and contained a number of relationships that were not significant. The PSB, derived by combining the empirical findings with the theoretical model, fit these data as well as the atheoretical model, and it is a more parsimonious representation of the relationships among the variables.