Hr. Winefield et Ej. Harvey, STRESS AND FAMILY SUPPORT AS PREDICTORS OF DISTRESS AND REJECTION IN PEOPLE WHO CARE FOR A RELATIVE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA, International journal of stress management, 1(4), 1994, pp. 283-297
Relatives (N = 121) of adult schizophrenia patients were interviewed t
o investigate predictors of their level of psychological distress and
of rejecting attitudes toward the sufferer. The relatives' total stres
s, particularly that associated with poor communication skills in the
sufferer, predicted several measures of their psychological distress,
and the same variables plus turbulence of sufferer behavior (i.e., vio
lence and disruptiveness) predicted rejection o of the sufferer by the
relative. In each case, adequacy of family support moderated the infl
uence of the stressors, although this effect was more marked for distr
ess outcomes than for rejection. The results have important implicatio
ns for the sorts of professional and peer support which relatives may
need to encourage their performance of this potentially burdensome rol
e. In addition, the results fit a classic stress management model and
provide a feasible alternative to the Expressed Emotion Model of the r
elationship between relatives' rejection and patients' illness severit
y.