Caregiver Burden, Anxiety and Depression among Primary Caregivers of Patients with Chronic Mental Illness
Abstract: Family members who provide daily care for people with chronic mental illness often carry substantial emotional, social and financial strain. This study examined caregiver burden, anxiety and depression among primary caregivers of patients with chronic mental illness, and tested whether burden was related to anxiety and depression and whether these outcomes differed by age, gender and relationship to the patient. A cross-sectional correlational design was used with a purposive sample of primary caregivers recruited through psychiatric outpatient and community rehabilitation settings in Bengaluru (planned n = 100; 105 complete records analysed). Burden was assessed with the 22-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and anxiety and depression with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Because scores departed from normality, Spearman correlations, permutation-based Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests and Holm-adjusted Dunn comparisons were used. The mean ZBI score was 32.37 (SD = 15.96); 77.1% of caregivers scored in at least the mild-to-moderate burden band, 59.0% had HADS anxiety scores of 8 or higher and 60.0% had HADS depression scores of 8 or higher. Burden correlated strongly with anxiety (rs = .810) and depression (rs = .816), Holm-adjusted ps
Keywords: Caregiver burden, anxiety, depression, chronic mental illness, Zarit Burden Interview, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, India
How to Cite?: Chaithra Padmasree, Dr. Kavya Vijayan, "Caregiver Burden, Anxiety and Depression among Primary Caregivers of Patients with Chronic Mental Illness", Volume 15 Issue 10, October 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1809-1814, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR261026183224, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR261026183224