Distress in parents of patients suffering from schizophrenia or affective disorders

The present study aims at investigating to what extent relatives of individuals suffering from mental illness experience caregiver burden. Hypotheses are formulated on the basis of stress theory and are tested on a sample of family members. Method: Relatives organised in the German and Austrian relatives' associations were questioned by means of mail surveys. Only parents (n = 509) of patients with schizophrenia or affective disorders were included in the study. Results: The majority of those questioned expressed the opinion that the burden experienced through caring for the patient interferes with their own state of health. Among the negative consequences of care-giving cited, health burden ranked first, followed by restrictions in the fields of leisure, employment/career and finances. For the respondents, the average sum score of the Zerssen list of complaints [1] was clearly increased in comparison with the standard values for the general population. Among the symptoms cited, brooding, inner unrest, irritability, insomnia, fatigue as well as neck and shoulder pains were mentioned most frequently. No gender or diagnosis-related differences were found with regard to the extent of burden experienced. Interaction effects could be demonstrated in that fathers of schizophrenic patients differ significantly from mothers of schizophrenic patients as well as from fathers of children with affective disorders. Conclusions: Further research is called for as relatives of people with mental disorders seem to represent a high-risk group. On the basis of our data, it can be assumed that these relatives differ from the general population in their utilisation of medical or rehabilitation services.