Caregiving burden and positive aspects of caregiving in schizophrenia: Mediating roles of hope and social support

Caring for an ill relative with schizophrenia can lead to both negative and positive experiences. The study aimed to determine the relationship between caregiving burden and positive caregiving experiences and evaluate the roles of hope and social support as possible mediators in this relationship. This study included 344 Chinese family caregivers of adults with schizophrenia. Instruments included Positive Aspects of Caregiving, Herth Hope Index, Caregiver Burden Inventory, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Data was analysed by Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis H tests, Spearman correlation, and a serial mediation model. Results showed that hope and social support separately and serially mediated the relationship between caregiving burden and positive caregiving experiences. The mediation effect of hope was stronger than that of social support and their serial mediation effect. Increasing hope and social support of family caregivers may alleviate caregiving burden and improve positive caregiving experiences.