Women with schizophrenia and broken marriages - doubly disadvantaged? Part II: Family perspective

Women with schizophrenia and broken marriages in India are disabled and stigmatised not only by the illness, but by the social attitudes to marital separation and divorce. We interviewed caregivers of 75 such women attending mental health facilities in Chennai in an attempt to understand their perceptions, attitudes and concerns about the future of their wards. Burden on the families was assessed using the Burden Assessment Schedule developed by us. Most families expressed intense distress and were especially concerned about the long-term future and security of these women. Care of the children of these women was an additional problem, in the face of total lack of any financial support from the husbands. The various sociocultural factors modulating the scene are also discussed.