Psychological distress, perceived stigma, and coping among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic profiles of respondents

Variable	Frequency (n)	%
Age
Early adulthood	50	25.0
Middle adulthood	109	54.5
Late adulthood	41	20.5
Sex
Male	86	43.0
Female	114	57.0
Race
Malay	89	44.5
Chinese	83	41.5
Indian	28	14.0
Religion
Islam	88	44.0
Buddhism	64	32.0
Hinduism	23	11.5
Christianity	19	9.5
Other religions	6	3.0
Marital status
Single	24	12.0
Married	156	78.0
Divorced/widowed	20	10.0
Residential location
City	176	88.0
Suburban	24	12.0
Highest education
Primary	30	15.0
Secondary	101	50.5
Tertiary	69	34.5
Working status
Working	99	49.5
Not working	101	50.5
Duration of caregiving
0–3 years	38	19.0
>3 years	162	81.0
Relationship with patient
Spouse	44	22.0
Parent/child	121	60.5
Sibling	27	13.5
Other family member	8	4.0

Table 2 Age and frequency of admission to psychiatric ward of the outpatients

Variable	Mean	Standard deviation
Age	43.36	15.88
Frequency of admission to psychiatric ward	2.49	4.36
Frequency of admission to psychiatric ward within this year	0.38	1.10
Frequency of appointment with psychiatrist within the last 6 months	2.77	2.39

Table 3 Mean and SD of components

Scales	Components	Mean	SD
K10	Psychological distress	17.80 (out of 50)	7.08
DCS	Status reduction	2.49 (out of 4)	0.509
	Role restriction	2.64	0.549
	Friendship refusal	2.56	0.73
DCFS	Community rejection	2.26	0.60
	Causal attribution	2.21	0.64
	Uncaring parents	1.87	0.68
Brief COPE	Self-distraction	5.11 (out of 8)	1.83
	Active coping	6.42	1.45
	Denial	3.07	1.41
	Substance use	2.28	0.93
	Emotional support	4.66	1.87
	Instrumental support	4.90	1.98
	Behavioral disengagement	2.58	1.18
	Venting	4.31	1.77
	Positive reframing	6.23	1.70
	Planning	5.96	1.91
	Humor	3.40	1.66
	Acceptance	6.70	1.44
	Religion	6.24	2.13
	Self-blame	3.02	1.47

Abbreviations: DCFS, Devaluation of Consumer Families Scale; DCS, Devaluation of Consumer Scale; SD, standard deviation.

Table 4 Correlation between psychological distress with DCS and DCFS factors and Brief COPE subscales

Components	Psychological distress
DCS
Status reduction	0.110
Role restriction	0.020
Friendship refusal	0.105
DCFS
Community rejection	0.155*
Causal attribution	0.128
Uncaring parents	0.002
Brief COPE
Self-distraction	−0.007
Active coping	−0.042
Denial	0.053
Substance use	0.148*
Use of emotional support	0.161*
Use of instrumental support	0.105
Behavioral disengagement	0.405**
Venting	0.225**
Positive reframing	−0.172*
Planning	−0.068
Humor	0.044
Acceptance	−0.052
Religion	0.088
Self-blame	0.292**

Notes:

* P<0.05,

** P<0.01.

Abbreviations: DCFS, Devaluation of Consumer Families Scale; DCS, Devaluation of Consumer Scale.