CARING FOR RELATIVES WITH SERIOUS MENTAL-ILLNESS - THE DEVELOPMENT OFTHE EXPERIENCE OF CAREGIVING INVENTORY

The aim of this study was to develop a practical, comprehensive, and v alid self-report measure of the experience of caring for a relative wi th a serious mental illness. The notion of caregiver 'burden' was reje cted; instead caregiving was conceptualised within a 'stress-appraisal -coping' framework. A 66-item version of the Experience of Caregiving Inventory (ECI) was derived from analyses of responses from 626 caregi vers, and then tested on an independent sample of 63 relatives of pati ents with schizophrenia recently in acute care. The extent to which th e ECI complied with the stress-coping model was tested, especially the degree to which it, in association with coping, predicted psychologic al morbidity in carers. Ten sub-scales with good internal consistency resulted from our analyses, eight negative (difficult behaviours; nega tive symptoms; stigma; problems with services; effects on the family, the need to provide backup, dependency; loss) and two positive (reward ing personal experiences; good aspects of the relationship with the pa tient). The ECI, in conjunction with coping style, predicted a large p roportion of the variance in the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). W e concluded that the ECI taps salient dimensions of caregiving distinc t from, although linked with, coping and psychological morbidity. It h as potential as a useful outcome measure for interventions aimed at pr omoting caregiver well-being.