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Purpose: This study examined connections (linking, compensatory, or none) between three systems of social support (informal, church, and formal). Predictors of each system were also examined. Design and Methods: A community sample of 187 caregivers who provided care to older African American participants in the Duke Established Populations for Epidemiological Studies of the Elderly was used. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine relationships between systems of social support as well as to determine predictors of each social support system. Results: Findings provide evidence for linking connections between systems of support: Informal and formal supports were linked, and church support and formal support were linked. The relationship of need as positively related to social support was limited to the care recipient's number of instrumental activities of daily living limitations being associated with formal support. Level of education was also associated with use of formal support. Implications: Cohesive family networks and network size are important factors that help determine what support caregivers receive. African American caregivers may be at risk for negative health outcomes because they are less likely to use formal support as care recipients' activities of daily living limitations increase.

The purposes of this study were to longitudinally examine the health outcomes of 107 African American caregivers who provided care to their elderly dependent family members and to determine the role of culture in predicting health outcomes. Similar to other studies, we found that combinations of caregiver background characteristics, stressors, and resources at wave 1 had direct effects on African American caregivers' health outcomes at wave 3. Unlike previous studies, where culture was not measured, we found that cultural beliefs and values did help to explain health outcomes for African American caregivers. Specifically, culture justifications for caregiving, baseline psychosocial health, and caregiving mastery predicted wave 3 psychosocial health. Caregiver education, number of morbidities, and physical functioning at wave 1 were associate with physical functioning at wave 3. The findings form this study have implications for future studies, particularly in regard to cultural beliefs and values among African American caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]