Resilience and Quality of Life in Caregivers of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Patients
The present study was designed to explore the resilience amongst caregivers of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and also to examine whether resilience affects an individual’s quality of life. For this purpose, a sample of 50 caregivers (25 from each group) residing with the patients, aged between 20-70 years was selected from psychiatry department of hospitals, and organizations and clinics dealing with the mentally ill persons located in Delhi / National Capital Region, India. Two standardized instruments, World Health Organization Quality of Life – BREF and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used for the study. Results indicated resilience to be same in both the groups of caregivers, i.e., there was no significant difference between resilience in caregivers of schizophrenic patients and bipolar disorder patients. There was a significant correlation between the quality of life and resilience in caregivers of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The present study, however, did not to compare the obtained results with a normal group of individuals to see if and how their quality of life and resilience differ from that of caregivers. The implication of this would be to work on a rehabilitation program that would focus on improving the financial factor and entertainment aspect of caregivers that would eventually maintain a good quality of life and in turn enhance their coping skills and resilience as well.
