A BSTRACT Background: Families play a pivotal role as caregivers, it is a demanding and distressing role affecting their quality of life. Caregiving for persons with schizophrenia may be impacted by family functioning and the caregiver’s perceived social support. The aim of this study was to assess family functioning and perceived social support among family caregivers of persons with schizophrenia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was adopted for the study. It was conducted on 50 family caregivers of persons with schizophrenia using Family Assessment Device and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results: A moderate level of dysfunction in family functioning was present among the family caregivers of persons with schizophrenia. The majority of family caregivers reported a moderate level of perceived social support. There was a significant inverse relationship between family functioning and perceived social support. Conclusion: The study findings showed that family functioning among families of persons with schizophrenia is better when the family caregivers have a good social support system in place. Hence, there is a need to incorporate a holistic care approach aimed to improving the social support of the family caregivers for a better functioning of the family and finally to positively impact the persons living with schizophrenia.
Kechu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.