BURDEN ON KEY RELATIVES OF PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA VS NEUROTIC DISORDERS - A PILOT-STUDY

The burden perceived by the key relatives of 27 schizophrenics and 19 patients with neurotic disorders, both with at least a minimal degree of personal/social disability and a current exacerbation of symptoms, was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. Only modest quantit ative and qualitative differences between the two samples of key relat ives were found. The burden perceived by the relatives of schizophreni cs was more closely related to the patients' personal/social disabilit y than that reported by the relatives of neurotic patients. The psycho pathological features of schizophrenic patients that were perceived as the most burdensome were ''negative'' symptoms, whereas the burden re ported by the relatives of neurotic patients was predominantly related to obsessive/compulsive and anxiety symptoms.