AIzheimer's disease and other dementing illnesses are some of
the most prevalent and costly conditions of late life. Current
estimates indicate that as many as two million individuals
suffer from Alzheimer's disease alone and this number is expected
to increase dramatically over the next half century. The costs and
burdens of providing care for dementia patients rests primarily on
the shoulders of one critical resource—the family members of the
patient. Caring for a relative with dementia involves significant expenditure
of instrumental and emotional resources over potentially
long periods of time. It often involves unpleasant and uncomfortable
tasks, nonsymmetrical (i.e., one-sided) interactions, and the assumption
of unanticipated roles. Providing care to a relative suffering
from dementia has been likened to being exposed to a severe, longterm,
chronic stressor. As a result, high levels of burden and distress
are reported in virtually all Alzheimer's disease and