Effects of Group Psychoeducational Intervention for Family Members of People with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: Results on Family Cohesion, Caregiver Burden, and Caregiver Depressive Symptoms

Abstract

:Families constitute a primary source of care for people with severe mental illness but often face substantial difficulties in fulfilling their role. Family psychoeducational interventions have been developed to address these problems with established efficacy and effectiveness. Among the variants of family psychoeducation, the relatives group is particularly understudied internationally, and in Greece no study has explored its effectiveness. The present study endeavors to assess the effectiveness of relatives-group psychoeducation in improving family cohesion, alleviating caregivers’ burdens, and reducing depressive symptomatology in relatives of those suffering from schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In total, 131 people took part in the study, 83 received intervention, and 48 were assigned to the control (treatment as usual). The research instrument consisted of the Family Ritual Scale, the Family Burden Scale, and CES-D. A self-constructed questionnaire was used to collect the sociodemographic data of relatives and patients as well as patient clinical profiles. The research instrument was administered in a face-to-face interview at three time points: baseline, completion of intervention, and one-year follow-up. The results demonstrated that psychoeducation had a beneficial effect for family cohesion, global family burden, objective family burden, and relatives’ depressive symptomatology throughout the study period. A nonsignificant finding was observed for subjective family burdens. Interestingly, linear regression models revealed that relatives of people who had suffered from schizophrenia spectrum disorders for more than ten years displayed the greatest improvement when attending a psychoeducational group. Psychoeducation constitutes a valuable nonstigmatizing intervention that empowers relatives of people with severe mental illness and enables them to cope effectively with the illness.