Evaluation of Family Dysfunction in Patients with Schizophrenia and Bipolar I Disorder

Abstract

Introduction: Schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder are very common disorders in hospitalized patients. Considering that family problems are one of the factors in the appearance and persistence of schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder, in this study, we decided to investigate and compare the family functioning between these two groups of patients. Methods: The sample consisted of 50 patients with schizophrenia and 50 patients with bipolar I disorder. The third group was the control group which consisted of 50 normal different professions such as teachers, workers, housekeepers and others. Then the Family Functioning Scale (FAD-I) was used and the final results of the three groups were compared by SPSS V21 software. Results: In the schizophrenia group, 88.9% percent of patients had family functioning scores less than 109.81 which showed that they had severe family dysfunction but in the bipolar I disorder group, 11.1% and all participants in the control group, had scores higher than 109.81.Conclusion: Family dysfunction was seen in schizophrenic patients rather than in the other two groups.