Disease-related stressors of caregiving burden among different types of family caregivers of persons with schizophrenia in rural China

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the impacts of schizophrenia on different types of caregiving burden. Aim: This study aims to examine how the severity of schizophrenia, social functioning and aggressive behavior are associated with caregiving burden across different kinship types. Method: The analytic sample included 300 dyads of persons with schizophrenia and their family caregivers in Xinjin, Chengdu, China. The 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) was utilized to identify the patients, whose symptom severity, social functioning and aggressive behavior were measured. Caregiving burden was estimated using the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers–short (BSFC-s). Results: A higher level of burden was significantly associated with female caregivers, larger family size, lower income, worse symptoms, poorer functional status and more aggressive behaviors. Parent caregivers showed greater burden if the patients had better functioning of social interest and concern or more aggression toward property. Mother caregivers showed greater burden than fathers. Spouses tended to perceive greater burden if the patients had better marital functioning, poorer occupational functioning or more aggressive behaviors toward property. Patients attacking others or a father with schizophrenia was related to a higher burden of child caregivers. A heavier burden of other relatives was correlated with patients’ more verbal aggression and self-harm. Conclusion: This study shows the distinct impacts of disease-related factors on the caregiving burden across different kinship types. Our findings have implications for health-care professionals and practitioners in terms of developing more targeted family-based or individualized intervention to ameliorate burden according to kinship types and deal with behavioral and functional problems in schizophrenia.

Quality of life and its social determinants for patients with schizophrenia and family caregivers in Cambodia

“…This may reflect the family members' possible commitment to agricultural labor or family-operated independent businesses (the two leading occupations). Kinship, or a caregiver's role in the family, was reported to affect the caregiver's perceptions of the burden of care, but the results of previous studies were inconsistent [75]. Our results showed that the QoL of the parents of patients was lower than that of the caregivers with other family relationships, which was congruent with several studies [76,77].…”

Gender Differences in the Attitudes of Parents Living with Adult Children with Schizophrenia

“…Parents in this study, however, show no such expectation for their ill daughters. Similar findings can be found in the study by Peng et al, [ 5 ] that the caring burden may relate to kinship types of patients with schizophrenia in Chinese society. Individuals with mental illness usually have lower marriage rate, but this phenomena happened in male more than female patients due to males carrying a heavier responsibility for providing a family living, while females are asked to meet housekeeping tasks [ 34 ].…”

“…However, people with mental health conditions are seldom able to fulfill their expected social roles effectively due to physical and cognitive decline caused by illness [ 2 , 3 ]. They are accordingly dependent on their family members as their primary caregivers [ 4 , 5 ]. As indicated by previous studies, living with mental illness does not prevent people from fulfilling their social, roles shaped by their cultures including gender roles [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Determining care burden and psychiatric symptom level in caregiver of schizophrenia patient

“…7 Approximately 25% to 50% of schizophrenia patients in Western countries and 70% in Asian countries are being cared for by their families. 3,8 Studies in developing countries showed that large families take care of the patient. 9,10 Patient care is difficult and brings a heavy burden to the caregiver.…”

“…The concept of care burden includes the physical, emotional, social, or economic difficulties experienced by the family member who cares for the patient. 6,8,11,12 The burden concept is classified into two groups as an objective burden (revenue lost, restriction of social activities, the stress in the home environment, etc) and subjective burden (emotional distress due to the disturbing behaviors of a patient or subjective distress level associated with the patient). 13,14 Since schizophrenic patient care is a very stressful experience, the care burden negatively affects the physical and mental health and well-being of the caregiver, as well as the care process and expected patient outcome.…”