The Relationship between Posttraumatic-Growth and Care Burden in Caregivers of Schizophrenia

Abstract

vWe assessed the relationship between the posttraumatic growth of caregivers of patients with schizophrenia and their care burden. The sample was determined using a “sample calculation formula from groups with a definite universe,” and the study included 146 caregivers. Sociodemographic Data Form, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), and Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) were used in the research. The mean PTGI score of the caregivers was 65.23 ± 16.90, while the mean ZBI score was 52.68 ± 13.72. It can be stated that the caregivers of patients with schizophrenia have a moderate care burden, but their posttraumatic growth is above a moderate level. As the posttraumatic growth of caregivers increases, the values of mental stress and disruption of private life, mental strain and restriction, and deterioration in social relations decrease.

Keywords:

• Care burden
• schizophrenia
• posttraumatic growth

Ethical approval

The approval of the ethics committee of the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine (07-11/2019).

Disclosure statement

The author declares no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Merve Bakar Gurcuoglu

Merve Bakar Gurcuoglu completed her master's degree in Psychiatric Nursing. She is still a clinical nurse at a hospital. At the same time, the author's field of study is schizophrenia. She continues her studies to start her doctorate in the field.

Hatice Durmaz

Hatice Durmaz’s specific research area is schizophrenia patients and caregivers. The researcher did her MA and PhD on schizophrenia caregivers. The researcher completed the training the Interpersonal Relations Therapy Training and the Conscious Awareness-Based Stress Reduction Training in order to be able to give therapy to her patients and caregivers. The researcher has many international and national studies on schizophrenia and its caregivers.