ORIGINAL ARTICLE Racial and ethnic differences in the relationship of caregiving stressors, resources, and sociodemographic variables to caregiver depression and perceived physical health SILVIA SO ¨ RENSEN 1 & MARTIN PINQUART 2 1 Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, NY, USA and 2 Department of Developmental Psychology University of Jena, Germany (Received 16 May 2004; accepted 15 September 2004) Abstract Racial and ethnic differences in the association of stressors, resources, and sociodemographic characteristics with depressive symptoms and perceived physical health were investigated. Data from 653 White non-Hispanic caregivers, 278 African American, and 218 Hispanic Alzheimer’s caregivers (209 males, 940 females) who were assessed at the baseline data collection of the REACH study, a multisite trial of caregiver interventions, was obtained. Multiple sample analysis, which allows testing whether a pattern of relationships is invariant across different samples, was used. Results support the hypothesis that, despite significant differences in resources and stressors, the predictors of depression and health are relatively uniform across groups. Ethnic differences were found for the effect of age, income, gender, and care receiver’s self- care impairments on caregiver depression. For perceived physical health, there were ethnic differences for the effect of income, gender, and type of caregiver relationships. Introduction Individuals who provide care to an older family member with dementia experience considerable stress and therefore face an increased risk for developing emotional and health problems (Pinquart & So ¨ rensen, 2003; Schulz, O’Brien, Bookwala, & Fleissner, 1995). Several authors have noted ethnic differences in levels of caregiver stressors, resources, and outcomes (Dilworth- Anderson & Gibson, 2002; Dilworth-Anderson, Williams, & Gibson, 2002; Haley et al., 1995). Ethnic differences in caregiving outcomes may have multiple explanations. Racial and ethnic groups may vary in the intensity of typical caregiving stressors, the availability of resources, and the types of coping processes they use (e.g., Aranda & Knight, 1997; Dilworth-Anderson & Gibson, 2002; Pinquart & So ¨ rensen, 2005). Furthermore, the relationships between stressors, resources, and coping processes with caregiving outcomes may vary between ethnic groups (e.g., Janevic & Connell, 2001). For example, ethnic minority caregivers 1 may be more resilient in the face of stress, due to ‘‘unique emotional strengths’’ such as positive appraisal (e.g., Haley et al., 1995), greater informal support (Dilworth-Anderson & Gibson, 2002; Pinquart & So ¨ rensen, 2005), and more religious coping (Picot, Debante, Namazi, & Wykle, 1997; Segall & Wykle, 1989). Greater resilience based in cultural practices and attitudes may coexist with greater vulnerability to distress (Knight, Silverstein, McCallum, & Fox, 2000). Although ethnic differences in stress and coping processes have been of interest for some time, the majority of available studies on ethnic differences in psychological and physical health effects of caregiving have focused on mean differences rather than relationships between the variables. In the present paper we review the current evidence regarding the association of caregiving stressors, available resources, and sociodemographic variables with depressive symptoms and physical health of ethnic minority caregivers and test whether these relationships are comparable to those found for White caregivers. We use data from the REACH (Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregivers Health) study, a multi-site study of caregiver interventions, which is now publicly available, to conduct these analyses. The REACH data set is especially well-suited for conducting multisample analysis because all individual sites used the same assessment instruments for caregiving stressors and Correspondence: Silvia So ¨ rensen, PhD, Program Geriatrics and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 300 Crittenden Blv., Rochester, NY 14642-8409, USA. Tel: (585) 273 2952. Fax: (585) 273 1082. E-mail: silvia_sorensEn@urmc.rochester.edu Aging & Mental Health, September 2005; 9(5): 482–495 ISSN 1360-7863 print/ISSN 1364-6915 online ß 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd DOI: 10.1080/13607860500142796