Caregiving profiles in first episode psychosis

Many caregivers of people with psychosis are at risk of distress, which can have negative consequences for well-being and service user outcomes. A number of appraisals of caregiving and avoidant coping styles have been associated with caregiver burden, burnout and distress, but understanding how these co-occur might further identify those at risk of poorer outcomes.

To determine if there are distinct caregiver profiles of appraisals and avoidant coping in early psychosis (EP). Further aims were to understand whether there are sociodemographic differences in the identified profiles.

The study analysed data collected from 254 caregivers within a London-based Early Intervention Service (EIS). Appraisals, beliefs and avoidant coping style measured using self-report questionnaires were entered into Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). Relationships between identified profiles and sociodemographics were assessed via chi-square tests.

LPA identified three caregiving profiles which were defined as: (i) Engagement and Rewarding (21.3%), (ii) Avoidance and Distressing (17.3%) and (iii) High control (61.4%). Of the demographics assessed, the Avoidance and Distressing profile were significantly more likely to be parents of the service users and had a longer length of caregiving on average.

Profiles of caregiver appraisals and avoidant coping were identified and found to be associated with the relationship to service user and length of caregiving. These findings have potential clinical implications for identifying at-risk caregivers so that targeted approaches could lessen poorer outcomes, including caregiver distress.