The Effect of Stress Management with Family Participation Program on Positive Symptoms of Person with Schizophrenia in Community
Keywords:
positive symptoms, family participation, stress management, schizophreniaAbstract
Introduction: People with schizophrenia living in the community often experience residual symptoms, such as auditory hallucinations. Inadequate management of these symptoms can negatively affect the daily lives of both the individuals and their families. Furthermore, stress and high levels of emotional expression within the family significantly exacerbate symptoms during the residual phase. Therefore, based on the concepts of Norman and Friedman, the researchers developed a stress management program incorporating family participation to reduce positive symptoms among people with schizophrenia in the community.
Research objectives: To compare the positive symptoms of people with schizophrenia before and after participating in a stress management with family participation program, and to compare the post-intervention outcomes between the experimental and control groups.
Research methodology: This quasi-experimental study involved 60 families of individuals with schizophrenia (aged 20–59 years) receiving care at Ongkharak Hospital. Participants were assigned to either an experimental group (n = 30 families) or a control group (n = 30 families). The research material and instruments included a stress management with family participation program, a demographic information form, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Family Participation Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test
Results: Following the intervention, the experimental group exhibited significantly lower positive symptom scores compared to their baseline (t = 15.74, df = 29, p < .001). Additionally, the experimental group demonstrated significantly lower positive symptom scores than the control group (t = -9.90, df = 58, p < .001).
Conclusions: The stress management program that incorporates family participation is effectiven in reducing positive symptoms among people with schizophrenia living in the community.
Implications: The stress management with family participation program should be implemented in primary care settings with appropriate adaptations for individual local contexts.
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