Relatives' distress and patients' symptoms and behaviours:: a prospective study of patients with schizophrenia and their relatives

Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between relatives' distress and patients' symptoms and behaviours. Method: Fifty relatives in close contact with 36 patients with schizophrenia DSM-III-R filled in the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Perceived Family Burden Scale (PFBS) at the patient's hospital admission, 4.5 and 9 months post-discharge. The patients were assessed by means of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results: The PFBS anxiety-depression cluster was at all three assessments positively correlated with relative's distress (GHQ), not with PANSS anxiety and depression measurements. In multiple regression analysis PFBS, but not PANSS, was related to relatives' distress. Conclusion: Relatives' distress was related to their reports of problematic patient behaviours, especially anxiety-depressive behaviour, not to symptoms as measured by clinical interviews. High distress is related to high expressed emotion, suggesting that relatives' report of patient's behaviour should be addressed to improve patient's outcome.