Psychological Distress, Affiliate Stigma and Burnout in Caregivers of Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological distress, affiliate stigma and burnout in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. It was hypothesized that there is likely to be a positive relationship between psychological distress, affiliate stigma and burnout and psychological distress and affiliate stigma are likely to predict burnout in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Differences for gender and caregiver’s relationship were also examined. The sample consisted of (N=150) caregivers including parents and spouse with age range 25 to 50 years (M = 41.28, SD = 7.49). Cross sectional correlational research design and purposive sampling technique was carried out to collect data from psychiatry units of four government hospitals. Measures for data collection were Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (Kessler, Andrews & Colpe, 2002), Affiliate Stigma Scale (Mak & Cheung, 2008) and Burnout Measure (Pines & Aronson, 2005). The results revealed a significant positive relationship between all the study variables. Results also indicated that psychological distress and affiliate stigma predict burnout. According to the results no significant gender differences were found in all the study variables. Parents and spouses were found to be significantly different on affiliate stigma. The findings of the present study are speculated to have sound implications in the clinical settings for planning interventions in order to reduce psychological distress, affiliate stigma and burnout in caregivers.

Keywords

• Psychological Distress
• Affiliate Stigma
• Burnout
• Caregivers of Patients with Schizophrenia