BACKGROUND Depressive illness is common. Depression in one family member is associated with an increased incidence of psychopathology in other family members. There are no data on the physical well being of the families of depressed individuals. AIM To compare physical morbidity of family members of depressed patients with that of family members of comparison patients. METHOD A comparative ...

The authors review recent controlled studies on the interrelationship of the family and its members with borderline disorder and propose a new model for understanding and managing this relationship. The focus of the model is on psychopathology, evaluation, and treatment of patient and family as they influence each other. In the authors' view this illness originates in cerebral dysfunction, in t...

BACKGROUND Applications of cost-effectiveness analysis do not typically incorporate effects on caregiver quality of life despite increasing evidence that these effects are measurable. METHODS Using a national sample of US adults, we conducted 2 cross-sectional surveys during December 2011 and January 2012. One version asked respondents to value their own experience as the family member of a p...

BACKGROUND Quality of life assessments are increasingly present in health research. Chronic and progressive illness of a family member unavoidably affects quality of life of a family as a whole. The goals of this study were to gain insight into the family burden of chronic disorders, especially possible differences in family quality of life (FQOL) in families that have members suffering from ei...

OBJECTIVES First, to explore whether in Morocco, a non-Western country, family members of patients with schizophrenia suffer from stigma and, if they do, which areas of their lives are most affected; and second, to explore family members' knowledge about the illness and their attitudes toward the patients. METHODS The study was conducted among 100 family members accompanying patients with sch...

A multiperspective account of the issues and subsequent interventions for families affected by parental mental illness is reviewed in this article, including those involving the children, the parent with mental illness, other family members, agencies, and society in general. An overview of various issues and interventions for families affected by parental mental illness is seen as potentially u...

BACKGROUND Mental illness may cause a variety of psychosocial problems such as decreased quality of life of the patient's family members as well as increased social distance for the patient and the family caring for the patient. Psychosocial challenges are enhanced by the stigma attached to mental illness, which is a problem affecting not only the patient but also the family as a whole. Coping ...

CONTEXT Despite the recognition of the role that sociocultural factors play in the process of acquiring insight, recent research on this issue is scarce. OBJECTIVES 1) to translate and adapt the Schedule for Assessment of Insight (SAI) to Portuguese; 2) to use a modified version of it to evaluate family members' insight into schizophrenia; 3) to compare patients' insight with family members' ...

This paper examines the impact of parental illness on children's education. We find that only father's illness decreases children's school attendance. Father's illness also has long-term impacts on child education, as it decreases children's likelihood of completing primary school and leads to fewer years of schooling. However, we find no evidence that father's illness affects schooling through...