The relationship between daily life activity levels of schizophrenia patients and care burden and expressed emotion statuses of their family members

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between daily life activity dependency statuses of the schizophrenia patients living with their families and care burden and expressed emotion statuses of the family members providing first level care to these patients. Methods: The study sample consisted of 32 patient families who were suitable for the scope of this study and agreed to participate. 'Questionnaire Form Involving the Characteristics of the Patient and the Care-giving Family Member', 'Activities of Daily Life and Instrumental Activities of Daily Life Assessment Form', 'Care-giving Burden Scale', and 'Expressed Emotion Scale' were used in data collection. Frequency distribution, arithmetic mean, Mann-Whitney U Test, Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Variance, and Spearman Correlation Analysis were used in the statistical analysis of the collected data. Results: A statistically significant negative correlation was detected between the overall score of the schizophrenia patient in the Instrumental Activities of Daily Life Assessment Form and overall score of the care-giving family member in the Care-giving Burden Scale and the Expressed Emotion Scale. Discussion: In this study, difficulties experienced by the care-giving family members and their levels of expressed emotion (judgmental/hostile or overprotective attitudes towards the patient) decreased as schizophrenia patient's independency in the instrumental activities of daily life (e.g., using the telephone, travelling by car or bus, withdrawing money, recognizing and using their drugs) increased.