The Effect of Mindfulness Level on Stress Perception in Caregivers of People with Schizophrenia

Aim: This research was conducted to examine the effect of mindfulness levels on stress perception in caregivers of people with schizophrenia.

Method: The population of the cross-sectional and descriptive study was the caregivers of people with schizophrenia registered at the Community Mental Health Centre affiliated with a Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul. The sample included 114 caregivers of people with schizophrenia who volunteered to participate and met the inclusion criteria. Data was collected using a Personal Information Form, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and Perceived Stress Scale and analysed using SPSS software package.

Results: The average age of the caregivers who participated in the research was 48.90±13.39 years, 63.2% were women, 28.1% were mothers as a degree of closeness to the patient, 64% had an income less than their expenses, 40.4% had a caregiving period between 10-19 years, 56.1%. It was determined that 100,000 of them had a support person in their patient care, and 84.2% of them had other person(s) to whom they provided care. The total mean score of the caregivers of people with schizophrenia from the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale was 53.40±15.15, and their mean total score from the Perceived Stress Scale was 31.26±7.90. A statistically significant negative relationship was detected between the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and the Perceived Stress Scale sub-dimensions of perceived lack of self-efficacy, perceived helplessness and Perceived Stress Scale-Total scores (p<0.001), indicating that perceived lack of self-efficacy, perceived helplessness, and perceived stress increased as mindfulness decreased in caregivers of people with schizophrenia.

Conclusion: The research concluded that the caregivers of people with schizophrenia had moderate mindfulness and perceived stress levels. As mindfulness increases, perceived stress decreases. Guided by this study’s findings, mental health nurses can play an active role in improving caregivers’ mental health, increasing their awareness levels, using more constructive coping strategies in stressful situations, and developing healthy behaviours.