The aim of the study was to assess the impact of caring for patients with chronic schizophrenia on the mental health status of the caregivers and to investigate how demographic factors and illness severity influence this relationship.

A total of 63 key caregivers of patients with chronic schizophrenia were administered the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). SCL-90-R was also administered to 65 healthy controls. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to assess the psychopathology severity of the patients they cared for.

Caregivers scored significantly higher on the anxiety (p<0.01), depression (p<0.05), somatization (p<0.05), hostility (p<0.001) and interpersonal sensitivity (p<0.01) sub-scales of the SCL-90-R compared to the health controls group. Caregivers' anxiety and depression were significantly (at p<0.05) related with PANSS total score (ra= 0.56 and rd= 0.65), illness duration (ra=0.55 and rd= 0.50) and lifetime psychiatric hospitalizations (ra=0.62 and rd= 0.49). Score on the somatization subscale of the SCL-90-R was significantly related with illness duration (r=0.61, p<0.05), and low educational level of the caregiver (r=0.57, p<0.01). Finally, score on the hostility subscale was significantly related with PANSS score (r=0.53, p<0.05) and lifetime psychiatric hospitalizations (r= 0.61, p<0.001).

The psychopathological severity of patients with chronic schizophrenia has a negative impact on their caregivers' mental health. Mental health services should aim to assist key caregivers of people with schizophrenic disorders to manage psychological burden.