A comparative study of family functioning as perceived between psychiatric patients and relatives

Abstract

© 2018, Medical Association of Thailand. All rights reserved. Objective: To study perception of family functions between psychiatric patients and their relatives. Materials and Methods: The 113 participants were selected based on the criteria. The patients were admitted to the hospital between December 2015 and November 2016, and the relatives of the patients were included as well. The demographic information was collected from medical records and additional interview of the patients’ regarding family functions, social network, and social support. The patients and their relatives conducted the Chulalongkorn Family Inventory [CFI] and the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Study [DIGS] Thai version. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistic and t-test. Results: The mean of the patients’ perceived family functioning score was 2.94 with standard deviation of 0.68, while the relatives’ perceived family functioning score had the mean of 3.13 with standard deviation of 0.59. In other area of perceptions, the scores were quite similar particularly as both patients group and relatives group scores were in a good range of 69% and 73.5%, respectively. Conclusion: The overall perceived family functions of the patients and their relatives were not statistically different except in the domain of affective response. Perceived family functions between psychiatric patients and their own family members demonstrated high level of agreement.