Investigation Into The Family Caregiver Burden And Psychological Resilience Of Patients With Bipolar Disorder

Purpose The aim of this study is to investigate into the psychological resilience of family members burdened with in-home treatment of patients with bipolar disorder in certain areas of Guangdong province.Methods This project is a descriptive study combining quantity and quality,We enrolled caregivers in two local outpatient clinics using questionnaires including general demographics survey,Zarit Caregiver Inventory(ZBI),Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 25(CD-RISC-25)to investigate caregivers care burden and psychological resilience.And we also invited some family members to take part in interviews.Results The caregiver burden of the participants of the study was moderate(33.53±14.43)and their psychological resilience score(57.34±12.09)is below the national norm(P<0.05);Also,the correlation between caregivers burden and their resilience was moderately negative(=-0.694);The caregivers’ age,occupation,and cumulative length of time for care-giving had different effects on care burden and mental resilience;Analysis using logistic regression showed that in terms of amount of burden,the cumulative length of time for care-giving was positively correlated with the total score of ZBI scale and its two dimensions(personal burden and responsibility burden).In terms of psychological resilience,the cumulative length of time for care-giving was negatively correlated with the three dimensions(optimism,strength and tenacity)and the total score of the scale.Psychological score decreased with the increase of care-giving time,while educational background was positively correlated with the tenacity dimension and the total score.(The higher the caregiver’s educational level,the better their resilience.)In terms of qualitative interview,the topics of care burden are as follows: family members are troubled by various problems of patients with bipolar disorder,incomplete mental health services in the communities,caregivers’ diverse caring roles and heavy caring burden,patients’ rehabilitation and family members’ relief of burden,and caregivers’ perception and demand contradiction of mental health knowledge.The themes of resilience are: changes in the psychology and behavior of caregivers with bipolar disorder,various forms of stress reduction for caregivers,lack of effective learning for caregivers,positive aspects of these setbacks and spiritual support for caregivers.Conclusion Caregivers for outpatients with bipolar disorder experienced heavy care burden and poor resilience.In order to improve the quality of life and effectiveness of treatment for these patients in the community,it is important to enhance the psychological resilience of caregivers while reducing their care burden.