(Feb. 14, 2018) Enormous levels of distress are felt by caregivers of individuals with serious mental illness, the majority of whom are family members of loved ones with the illness.
New research published by Debra Lerner, Lisa Dixon, and colleagues corroborates the feelings of many family members with a loved one with a serious psychiatric disease–caring for someone with serious mental illness takes its toll.
The study authors surveyed 1,398 eligible caregivers of individuals with serious mental illness that they contacted through advertisements sent to caregiver groups, the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America (SARDAA), the Dear Abby column, and others. The survey inquired about a range of concerns, including the amount of coping resources at their disposal, the resource demands on the caregiver, and the amount of stress they perceived.
Study findings
Psychological distress among caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder is significantly higher than the national norm, according to the study. It also concluded that distress felt by people caring for loved ones with severe psychiatric illnesses was higher than that felt after a major natural disaster, Hurricane Sandy.
The vast majority of caregivers surveyed were women, and 60% of those were parents to a child with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Only 40% of those lived in the same household as their loved ones.
In the majority of findings, the distress was found to be caused by the increased demands on the caregiver and the amount of time and effort that person needed to devote to providing care. The second highest distress factor stemmed from the fear that a loved one would stop taking their medication and relapse into psychosis.
The authors argue that programs designed to provide support to caregivers could prevent elevated distress levels, both for the caregivers of individuals with serious mental illness and the general population. In particular, the research showed that additional social support would reduce caregiver distress by almost 20%, bringing their level of distress close to the average amount felt in the United States. Meanwhile, reducing the financial burden felt by caregivers was shown to reduce distress by more than 10%, while increasing their emotional rewards would lower the psychological distress by 9%.
More than 8.4 million Americans were caregivers to an individual with mental health related issues, according to 2015 estimates. Four in 10 of these individuals found it difficult to manage their own health due to the extreme stress of caring for their loved one.
On this Valentine's Day, greater attention and compassion to the dedicated people caring for their loved ones with serious mental illness is needed. The significant psychological distress felt by caregivers should be met with initiatives to bolster their support network and reduce their anxiety as they embark on the challenging tasks of caring for someone with serious mental illness.
Elizabeth Sinclair
Director of Research
References:
- Lerner, D. et al. (February 2018). Psychosocial distress among caregivers of individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Psychiatric Services.