Impact of Having a Family Member with Major Mental Illness:Do there Exists Differences Perceived among Spouse- and Non-Spouse Family Members?

Major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorders not only affect the individual but also the persons who are in their family too. An exploratory study was undertaken with an aim to identify how family members perceive that having another member in their family with major mental illness could affect their life. Data was obtained from 120 family members who accompanied with the mentally ill persons during their visits to a psychiatric outpatient unit using a structured interview schedule. Data was pooled and analyzed based on the objectives of the study using SPSS v.12. There were no statistical differences in the item-specific or domain-wise mean impact scores between spouses and non-spouses. Planning interventions including the family members would be beneficial towards speedy recovery among patients with major mental illness.