The Impact of a Substance Abuse Disorder on the Well-Being of Family Caregivers of Adults With Mental Illness

The impact that substance use has on an individual with mental illness has been documented; however, little is known about the impact that this may have for a family caregiver. Data was collected in a cross sectional study using mailed questionnaires to a convenience sample of family members of persons with mental illness (n = 110). Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to determine the impact of substance use status upon four measures of well-being within a stress-coping model. The variables within the model were able to account for a significant proportion of the variance in each of the measures: perceptions of burden, depression, anxiety and physical health status (R 2 =.419 to.202). However, substance use status was not a significant predictor in any of these equations. Symptomatology and a measure of specific social support were the most significant predictors of burden (beta =.345, p <.001 and beta =.330, p <.001). Perceptions of caregiver burden were found to be the most significant predictor in each of the other three analyses (beta =.515, p <.000; beta =.511, p <.000; beta = -.571, p <.000). Results of this study suggest that substance use may not be as important as the other predictors included in the model in determining the well-being of family caregivers.