Investigation of the Role of Perceived Stigma on Family Resilience in Family Members of People With A Chronic Mental Illness: A Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION

In the provision of comprehensive care, it is important to identify factors that affect the resilience of family caregivers of people with a chronic mental illness.

AIM: This study was aimed at investigating the association between perceived family stigma and family resilience among family caregivers of people with a chronic mental illness.

METHOD: In the study, the cross-sectional, correlational design was used. The sample consisted of 158 family caregivers of individuals diagnosed with a chronic mental illness (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) who were attending an outpatient unit of a university hospital. Data were collected using the stigma section of the Family Interview Schedule (FIS), and Family Hardiness Index and Sociodemographic Characteristics Form. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyse the data. In the reporting of the study, the STROBE checklist was used.

RESULTS

Family stigma (β = -0.564, p = 0.001) and duration of caregiving (β = -0.396, p = 0.001) were associated with family resilience. In the model, family stigma and duration of caregiving accounted for 30% of the variance in family resilience (Adjusted R2 = 0.300) (F = 33.142, p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Perceived stigma of the family and duration of caregiving are important determinants of family resilience. There was a significant negative relationship between family stigma and family resilience.

LIMITATIONS: The fact that the study was conducted in a single hospital may have affected the generalisability of the results in terms of sample diversity. The hospital where the research was conducted is a university hospital and thus it is thought that supportive services for caregivers are relatively better. The other limitation is that a cross-sectional design was used, making it impossible to identify causal relationships.

RECOMMENDATIONS: It is recommended that the long-term effects of perceived stigma of caregivers on family resilience be investigated in future studies. It is recommended that mental health nurses plan nursing interventions to reduce the family's perceived stigma in order to increase family resilience.