Original article

Korean Journal of Schizophrenia Research 2007;10(1):46-52.

가족 부담 및 서비스 욕구가 만성 정신분열병 환자 보호자의 우울증상에 미치는 영향

Ho Kyoung Yoon, MD1, Seong-Geun Park, MD2, Mee Young Lee, MA1, Young-Hoon Ko, MD1 Bun Hee Lee, MD1, Sung Doo Won, MA3, Sang-Woo Han, MD, PhD4 and Yong Ku Kim, MD1

Abstract

Objectives:The aim of this study was to identify family burden and service needs of chronic schizophrenic patients’ care takers. And we investigated the influences of sociodemographic characteristics, family burden and service needs on the depressive symptoms of the care-takers.
Methods:The subjects of this study were 88 persons who were the chronic schizophrenic patients’ care-takers. The total number of care-takers completed the questionnaires. Family Burden Interview Schedule, Mental Health service need scale, Zung’s Depression Scale is applied. The results were analyzed by SPSS 12.0.
Results:In the rate of family burden, emotional and economic burden rate are higher than others. Among the service needs, emergency and crisis intervention, hospitalization, social skill training needs are greater than others. Care-taker’s age and monthly income were the significant predicting variables for depression, but the burden and the needs of care-takers were not.
Conclusion:Age and economic factor affect caretaker’s depressive symptoms. On the other hand, family burden and their needs didn’t have an effect on depressive symptoms. It seems that family burden and their needs interact with depressive symptoms reciprocally or indirectly. Therefore, as planning the mental health service and program, not only family burden and service needs but also caretaker’s demographic characters and psychosocial factors must be considered. (Korean J Schizophr Res 2007;10:46-52)

Key Words: Family burden,Mental health service needs,Depressive symptoms,Chronic schizophrenic patient