Family functioning in families of patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders

BACKGROUND: Family functioning is one of the most important aspects of psychiatric treatment. The purpose of this study was the comparison of family functioning in family members of schizophrenic patients and patients with mood disorders in Shahrekord, Iran. METHODS: This analytical descriptive study was conducted on family members of 186 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and mood disorders. The data were collected through interviews using the family assessment device. Data were analyzed using chi-square, Student's t-test, Pearson correlation, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). RESULTS: The mean total score of the questionnaire in the family members of patients with mood disorders (2.34 ± 0.26) was significantly (P < 0.001) lower than that in schizophrenic patients' family members (2.55 ± 0.31). CONCLUSION: The present study highlighted that family functioning among family members of patients with schizophrenia had problems in all domains.