Background: The concept of burden shares characteristics with that of social performance, existence of burden indicates the breakdown of the reciprocal arrangements that people maintain in their relationship such that one person is doing more than his fair share. Mental health and related services are still a source of stigma and frequently cause important issues for the caregivers and patients as well.
Aim: To assess the perceived family burden, depression, anxiety and stress among the caregivers of married and unmarried female patients with schizophrenia.
Methodology: 30 unmarried and 30 married female schizophrenia patients were recruited from Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS) OPD and mental health stigma scale;depression, anxiety and stress scale; and perceived burden inventory were administered on their care givers.
Result: High level of Family burden was found in care givers of married patients but at the same time caregivers of unmarried patients living with psychosocial distress. High level of Depression, Anxiety and Stress were present in the caregivers of unmarried female patients.
Conclusion: The caregivers of married female schizophrenia patients perceived significantly higher burden in comparison to caregivers of unmarried female schizophrenia patients, whereas the latter group had significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress.
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