Relationship between Family Burden, Stigma, Stress, Social Support, Family Acceptance, and Family’s Ability in Caregivers of Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

The family’s ability as a caregiver for schizophrenic patients is very necessary because it can affect the success of the treatment process provided. This article aims to determine the relationship between family burden, stigma, stress, social support, family acceptance and family’s ability in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. This study used a quantitative method with a cross-sectional study design. The study was conducted at the outpatient polyclinic at Teuku Umar General Hospital with a total sample of 98 family members of schizophrenic patients. The results of this study indicate that family burden, stress, stigma, and acceptance are related to the family’s ability to provide care to schizophrenic patients (p = 0.0001 < 0.05). Only the social support variable has no relation with the family’s ability to provide care to schizophrenic patients (p = 0.145 > 0.05). The lack of a relationship between the social support variable and family’s ability is consistent with the stigma variable’s results, which indicates a negative stigma from the community towards the family, so social support becomes unnecessary. This study concludes that families can better care for schizophrenic patients when their burden, stress level, and stigma are reduced or lower. The greater a family accepts schizophrenia patients, the greater their ability to care for them.