Zarit Burden Interview

The Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) is the most widely used self-report measure of caregiver burden — the physical, emotional, social, and financial strain experienced by people who care for an impaired older relative, most often someone with dementia. Originating in Steven Zarit, Karen Reever, and Julie Bach-Peterson's 1980 study of relatives of impaired elderly, the instrument asks caregivers to rate how often they feel a series of burdens, such as feeling that caregiving harms their health, social life, or finances, or that they could do a better job. The standard version has 22 items rated 0 (never) to 4 (nearly always), summing to a 0–88 total in which higher scores mean greater burden. Short forms (12-item) and a 4-item screen exist for quick assessment. The ZBI is a cornerstone of family-gerontology and dementia-care research and a routine outcome in caregiver-support interventions.