The relationship between expressed emotion and sociodemographic variables, early stress and stress symptoms in informal caregivers of people with mental disorders

Abstract

Introduction: Changes resulting in Brazilian psychiatric reform brought people with mental disorders closer to their families, who became responsible for the offer of care. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the expressed emotion, the early stress, and the stress symptoms among informal caregivers of people with mental disorders at the time of psychiatric hospitalization. Method: 112 caregivers participated. Four instruments were used to collect data: socio-demographic questionnaire, Family Questionnaire - Brazilian Portuguese Version (FQ-BPV), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Lipp Adult Stress Symptom Inventory (ISLL). Descriptive, bivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed. Caregivers were assessed with high emotion expressed both in the emotional over-involvement component and in the critical comments component. Results: The emotional over-involvement component of expressed emotion was significantly associated with early stress and stage of stress symptoms. Early stress, age, and the education level of caregivers were identified as predictive variables of high expressed emotion. Conclusion: These results confirm the relevance of these variables for the planning of care actions in the context of mental health.