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Schizophrenia Bulletin 2004 30(3):665-675;
© 2004 by Oxford University Press and the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC)
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© Oxford University Press

The Disregarded Caregivers: Subjective Burden in Spouses of Schizophrenia Patients

Johannes Jungbauer, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Bettina Wittmund, M.D., Psychiatrist and Family Therapist, Sandra Dietrich, M.A., Research Assistant and Matthias C. Angermeyer, M.D., Professor
KFH NW University of Applied Sciences Aachen, Germany
University Psychiatric Hospital Leipzig, Germany
Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig and Director, University Psychiatric Hospital Leipzig

Send reprint requests to Dr. J. Jungbauer, KFH NW University of Applied Sciences, Robert-Schuman-Strasse 25, D-52066 Aachen, Germany; e-mail: j.jungbauer{at}kfhnw.de

Although the burdens of relatives of schizophrenia patients have been the subject of numerous studies, there are hardly any publications on the living situation of the patients' spouses. The findings of this qualitative interview study of 52 spouses of schizophrenia patients are, therefore, especially noteworthy. Spouses not only face illness-specific burdens but also burdens resulting from their partnership and family roles. From a biographical point of view, schizophrenia is often evaluated by the spouse as a decisive point in life that seriously affects the couple's relationship, the family, and the spouse's own life. The chronic burdens of everyday living can profoundly reduce the quality of life and the subject's satisfaction with the partnership. Though partnerships with schizophrenia patients are at risk of breakdown and separation in many respects, they are often maintained for years. Despite the illness-related burdens, many spouses take positive stock of living together. Stable partnerships seem to be achievable when the partner's impairment is perceived as moderate or moderately severe, and when the frequency at which psychotic episodes occur is assessed as still being tolerable. Spouses who suffer from mental illness or impairment themselves often experience the partnership as an appropriate and satisfactory way of life. In these cases, the mutual understanding rooted in the subject's own experiences with the illness is important.

Keywords: Schizophrenia / pregnancy / preventive ethics / chronically and variably impaired autonomy


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 Int J Soc PsychiatryHome page
M. C. Angermeyer, R. Kilian, H.-U. Wilms, and B. Wittmund
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International Journal of Social Psychiatry, May 1, 2006; 52(3): 278 - 285.
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