Abstract
ObjectiveTo identify and compare caregiver burden and expressed emotion (EE) in adult substance use disorder (SUD) patients with and without co-occurring attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To examine possible differences in correlations between caregiver burden and EE across patient groups.Design and MethodsCross-sectional study with measures of perceived burden (Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire: IEQ), subjective stress (General Health Questionnaire: GHQ) and perceptions of expressed emotion (Level of Expressed Emotion: LEE) in informal caregivers for patients with SUD, SUD+ADHD or SUD+ASD.FindingsNo differences in caregiver burden or expressed emotion when caregivers for patients with SUD were compared to caregivers for patients with SUD+ADHD. A moderate but non-significant difference for caregivers of patients with SUD versus SUD+ASD, which disappeared when the number of contact hours between patient and caregiver for the SUD only group was controlled for. The IEQ sum scores also substantially correlated with the LEE sum scores.ConclusionInformal caregivers for patients with only SUD show higher levels of burden and EE than informal caregivers for patients with SUD and a co-occurring ASD. This difference was largely explained by the higher number of contact hours between patient and caregiver in the SUD only group.
Highlights
Background and Review of the LiteratureSince the 1950s, it has been acknowledged that informal care for the mentally ill may result in psychological problems on the part of caregivers (Platt 1985; Yarrow et al 1955). Goossens et al (2008) define an informal caregiver as Bthe person who, in the perception of the patient, is an important person in his or her life, who is not a professional and who delivers significant support and care for the patient^
Informal caregivers for patients with only substance use disorder (SUD) show higher levels of burden and expressed emotion (EE) than informal caregivers for patients with SUD and a co-occurring autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This difference was largely explained by the higher number of contact hours between patient and caregiver in the SUD only group
The intensity of care needed—according to the European Addiction Severity Index (EuropASI)—for the subgroup of 60 patients did not differ from the 122 patients included in the prior study with the exception of less gambling problems in the 20 SUD+ASD patients in the current sample than in the previous sample of 31 SUD+ASD patients
Summary
Background and Review of the LiteratureSince the 1950s, it has been acknowledged that informal care for the mentally ill may result in psychological problems on the part of caregivers (Platt 1985; Yarrow et al 1955). Goossens et al (2008) define an informal caregiver as Bthe person who, in the perception of the patient, is an important person in his or her life, who is not a professional and who delivers significant support and care for the patient^. Goossens et al (2008) define an informal caregiver as Bthe person who, in the perception of the patient, is an important person in his or her life, who is not a professional and who delivers significant support and care for the patient^. In this article, this is what we will refer to as a Bcaregiver^. Caregivers can provide companionship and emotional support for patients and assist with their personal care, household tasks, financial tasks and the management of medication. Caregivers can play a key role as the informal care coordinator for a patient (Feinberg et al 2011)
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