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An experimental investigation of determinants of whether people in need will seek help from an available source was based on an attributional analysis of when seeking help is experienced as threatening to self-esteem. Subjects perceived that they were performing poorly on a social judgment task and that available guidelines could help them. Help was sought significantly more (a) when it was reasonable to attribute responsiblity for failure externally rather than to the self; (6) when the attributes linked to help seeking were peripheral rather than central to the subjects' self-conception (only among subjects with high self-esteem); (c) by subjects with low rather than high selfesteem (only when help seeking reflected on central attributes); and (d) by subjects with low rather than high achievement motivation. * p < .05. ** p < .01.

The consequences of psychiatric disorders for family members, usually called family or caregiver burden, have been studied during the last 4 decades. During this period a variety of instruments have been developed to measure the impact of mental illness on family members, but not all instruments have been described systematically in the published literature. The authors review 21 instruments that have been used or developed during the last 10 years, including several that have not previously been reported. The protocols are described in terms of their method and comprehensiveness, precursors and theoretical foundations, and types of psychometric information available. The instruments are assessed for potential use as research tools, and also for application in routine clinical practice.

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