THE BURDEN OF CARE OF SCHIZOPHRENIA IN MALAY FAMILIES

Deinstitutionalization has shifted much of the burden of care of chron ic schizophrenia from mental institutions to the family. The aim of th is study is to asses the prevalence of mental disorders among 210 prim ary carers of Malay schizophrenic patients, explored the burden and ha rdship experienced by them. This is a two-stage psychiatric screening procedure. All the cases suspected from initial screening with WHO Sel f-Reporting Questionnaires (SRQ-20) were called for clinical interview . Patients' behavioural problems and the burden of relatives were asse ssed by the Social Behaviour Schedule and the Interview Schedule respe ctively. It was found that about 23% of the carers developed neurotic disorders resulting from the stress; nearly half of them had neurotic depression. Despite their burden, they do not complaint about it. Neur otic carers compared with non-neurotic carers had significantly more s ubjective burden and distress related to the product of active psychos is. The carers were generally able to tolerate the negative symptoms o f schizophrenia. The number of problem behaviours and previous admissi ons were significantly correlated with the severity of burden.