Zusammenfassung

Introduction. The role of family as a preventive, promotive, and curative agent is well documented in mental health studies. However, few attempts have been made to engineer the positive family mechanisms in enhancing psychiatric patients' role performance. Methods. This study is an endeavor to demarcate the effect of family education on social functioning of 170 schizophrenics and 174 patients with mood disorders. Solomon's four group design allowed patients from each category to be assigned into four groups. Key family members from experimental groups participated in a one day monthly programmer over a period of six months. Attitude towards mental illness, family environment and skills in management of patient's verbal and non-verbal behaviors as well as patient's adjustment ability within the family, community and work place constituted the focus of this study. While applying batteries of test, data pertaining to the aforementioned characteristics were obtained from the subjects 6 and 18 months after intervention which were subsequently compared with the baseline data. Findings. Comparing the baseline data with the data pertaining to other phases of intervention, one could observe a regressively progressive change in the families' attitudinal, cognitive and behavioral aspects, allowed by the patients' desirable social adjustment. Conclusion. These observations are congruent with earlier findings in the west, reinforcing the promising role of education in bringing about desirable changes in the family dynamic which can ensure better outcome for the psychiatric patients' illness.