Caregiver Burden, Anxiety and Depression among Primary Caregivers of Patients with Chronic Mental Illness

Family members who provide daily care for people with chronic mental illness often carry substantial emotional, social and financial strain. This study examined caregiver burden, anxiety and depression among primary caregivers of patients with chronic mental illness, and tested whether burden was related to anxiety and depression and whether these outcomes differed by age, gender and relationship to the patient. A cross-sectional correlational design was used with a purposive sample of primary caregivers recruited through psychiatric outpatient and community rehabilitation settings in Bengaluru (planned n = 100; 105 complete records analysed). Burden was assessed with the 22-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and anxiety and depression with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Because scores departed from normality, Spearman correlations, permutation-based Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests and Holm-adjusted Dunn comparisons were used. The mean ZBI score was 32.37 (SD = 15.96); 77.1% of caregivers scored in at least the mild-to-moderate burden band, 59.0% had HADS anxiety scores of 8 or higher and 60.0% had HADS depression scores of 8 or higher. Burden correlated strongly with anxiety (rs = .810) and depression (rs = .816), Holm-adjusted ps < .001. Relationship to the patient was significantly associated with burden, anxiety and depression (adjusted ps < .001), with parent caregivers scoring highest, whereas age and gender differences did not survive correction for multiple testing. Findings are provisional because of an unresolved sample-size discrepancy and the cross-sectional, self-report, non-probability design. The results support routine screening of caregivers? psychological health, with particular attention to parent caregivers, alongside caregiver-focused psychoeducation and counselling.