Investigation into the psychological resilience of family caregivers burdened with in-home treatment of patients with bipolar disorder

Abstract

Background: Family members of patients with bipolar disorder experience burden associated with in-home treatment in Guangdong Province of China. This group of people is frequently being overlooked. Objective: The aim is to investigate into the levels of burden and the psychological resilience of these caregivers. Design: 172 family caregivers were recruited from two local outpatient clinics using questionnaires for a descriptive study. Semi-structured interviews with 12 participants were also conducted to identify themes related to the difficulties, strengths, and limitations of caregiving. Results: The caregiver burden was moderate (33.53±14.43) and their psychological resilience score (57.34±12.09) was below the national norm. The impact of caregivers' burden on the psychological resilience was statistically significant(P<0.05). Age, occupation, and the cumulative length of time for caregiving had different effects on levels of burden and resilience. Conclusion: The findings indicate more support is needed for the family caregivers. Limitations: The geographical location limits the generalizability of the findings and sample size. Other constraints include the convenient sampling method and individual factors.

Keywords

• Bipolar disorder
• In-home treatment
• Family caregiver burden
• Psychological resilience