Perceived Stress, Perceived Social Support, and Resilience of Family Caregivers of Individuals with Mental Illness: A Study Conducted in Community Extension Clinic

Abstract Background: Mental illness in family members causes stress in caregivers; lesser perceived social support and low resilience influence their coping process. Aim: To assess perceived stress, perceived social support and resilience of family caregivers of individuals with mental illness. Methods: Quantitative approach and non-experimental descriptive design was used. Data were collected from two community extension clinics run by a tertiary mental health care institute in India. 120 caregivers were included using purposive sampling technique. The tools used were- Socio demographic data sheet of the caregiver, Clinical data sheet of the patient, perceived stress scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Brief Resilience Scale. Results: Mean PSS score was 13.17 (±8.47), majority had low level of perceived stress (55%). Mean MSPSS score was 61.41 (±19.19), majority had high level of perceived social support (63.3%). Mean BRS score was 20.58(±5.13), majority had normal resilience (55.8%). Perceived stress had significant association with current mental health status of the patient, age, gender of caregivers and their care giving responsibility to others. Gender of caregivers was found to have significant association with perceived social support and resilience respectively. Conclusions: The present study findings showed that majority of the caregivers had low level of stress, high level of perceived social support, and normal resilience. This may be due to the fact that most of the patients were well maintained at home with regular medication & follow up.