Relationship between Mental Health and Burden among Primary Caregivers of Outpatients with Schizophrenia

• Author: Wenjun Yu,Jize Hu,JingChu Hu,Jia Chen
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12340
• Date: 01 June 2019
• Published date: 01 June 2019

Relationship between Mental Health and Burden

among Primary Caregivers of Outpatients with

Schizophrenia

WENJUN YU*

,†

JIA CHEN

‡

JIZE HU

§

JINGCHU HU*

There is growing recognition that caring for a patient with schizophrenia often results in

high levels of perceived burden and poorer overall mental health for caregivers. A quantita-

tive cross-sectional design and standardized instruments were used to collect dat a from

355 primary caregivers of adults in outpatient care with schizophrenia in China. Struc-

tural equation modeling was used to examine the association between caregiver burden

and mental health among primary caregivers and whether this association is influenced

by personality, coping style, and family functioning, based on a diathesis–stress perspec-

tive. Goodness-of-fit indices (v

2

/df =1.406, GFI =0.919, CFI =0.957, etc.) confirmed that

the modified model fit the data well. In line with the diathesis–stress model, and with this

study’s hypotheses, we found that caregiver burden was significantly related to mental

health outcomes directly. The final model showed that personality traits, coping style, and

family function influenced the relationship between caregiver burden and mental health.

The neuroticism personality traits have a direct effect on caregiver burden and family func-

tioning in this sample. Coping style had a direct effect on the caregive r burden, and family

functioning had a direct effect on the caregiver burden. Our final model about primar y

caregivers can be applied clinically to predict mental health outcomes from caregiver

burden.

Keywords: Schizophrenia; Outpatients; Primary Caregivers; Mental Health; Caregiver

Burden

Fam Proc 58:370–383, 2019

INTRODUCTION

Schizophrenia and Primary Caregivers

Schizophrenia is a severe and chronic psychiatric disorder that causes impairments in

cognition, speech, emotional responsiveness, and social and occupational function ing.

These impairments limit the abilities of affected individuals to function independently;

*School of Psychology and Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University,

GuangZhou, China.

†

College of Education, JingGangShan University, Ji’An, China.

‡

Education Center of Master of Social Work, JingGangShan University, Ji’An, China.

§

College of Psychology and Sociology, ShenZhen University, ShenZhen, China.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Wenjun Yu and JingChu Hu, School of

Psychology, South China Normal University, Shipai Road, Guangzhou 510631, China.

E-mails: yupsy-phd@163.com (WJY); hujingchu@m.scnu.edu.cn (JCH).

370

Family Process, Vol. 58, No. 2, 2019 ©2018 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12340