Psychosocial support to families of people with severe and prolonged mental illness

Abstract

Family quality of life is affected when one member shows high support needs. Variables such as social support and sense of coherence appear to mediate the impact of care on quality of life. In the present study we analyzed the support perceived by caregivers, the meaning given to care, and the changes experienced in quality of life after assuming the role of caregiver. Participants consisted of 50 family members of individuals with mental illness who responded to a questionnaire to analyze the experience of caring and the perceived supports and quality of life. Although the results indicate that caregivers spend many hours performing care tasks, for a substantial percentage the quality of the relationship has improved after being caregiver. On average, the different dimensions of quality of life experienced a significant decline when dealing with care giving tasks. However, previous rela-tionship quality with the person receiving care, the handling of this task, or the existence of personal care time, affect ratings on quality of life.

Keywords

• calidad de vida familiar
• apoyo social
• sentido de coherencia
• enfermedad mental