The perceptions of burden in providing care to the disabled elderly by a family member may be affected by the caregiver's personal and social resources and by the differences in involvement and familial roles between the caregiver and the care receiver. To test this relationship, 41 spouse and adult daughter caregivers involved in a home-based treatment program completed the 29-item Zarit Burden Interview and a checklist of their participation level in 10 caregiving tasks, and rated the incidence and severity of the care receiver's specific behavioral problems. Adult children caregivers reported sources of burden which were outside the caregiver/care receiver relationship, with major stressors being the influence of concurrent role demands and financial strain. Spouse caregivers, on the other hand, reported sources of stress within the caregiving relationship, with major burdens being personal functioning, especially in direct caregiving tasks, and interpersonal relationships with the disabled spouse. These findings suggest that fundamental differences exist in how elderly spouses and adult daughters define and perceive their roles as primary caregivers. (ABB)