Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a descriptive correlation design. A total of 122 Taiwanese primary family caregivers of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia was recruited from in-patient psychiatric rehabilitation services. Measures included demographic information sheet, Affiliate Stigma Scale, Family Sense of Coherence Scale-Short Form, and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-brief version. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses were applied for a data analysis.
Results: Primary family caregivers experienced poor health-related quality of life, especially in the aspects of psychological health and environment features. Family sense of coherence meditated the relationship between affiliate stigma and health-related quality of life.
Conclusion: The finding of this study expands knowledge regarding the degree of health-related quality of life among primary family caregivers having relatives with schizophrenia in mental health rehabilitation. Mental disorder is not viewed as an individual problem but a family affair. Schizophrenia exacts a toll on the health-related of quality of life of primary family caregivers. Understanding the pivotal role of family sense of coherence in health-related quality of life would be of interest to provide directions for mental healthcare professionals, especially in rehabilitation facilities to strengthen family sense of coherence to alleviate affiliate stigma, which in turn can promote optimal health-related quality of life for primary family caregivers. Resiliency-oriented, family-centered support programs in long-term psychiatric facilities would be implemented to attenuate the adverse effects of affiliate stigma on health-related quality of life by means of enhancing the family sense of coherence. Further research should elucidate other key contributing factors to health-related quality of life, especially with regard to socio-cultural characteristics of family caregivers who take major responsibilities for their loved ones suffering from schizophrenia.