Psychoeducation Improved Illness Perception and Expressed Emotion of Family Caregivers of Patients with Schizophrenia

Social interventions such as psychoeducation, in conjunction with appropriate antipsychotic medications, positively impact schizophrenic patients’ recovery. The aim of this 12-week study was to compare standard Indonesian mental healthcare for schizophrenia with psychoeducation-enriched care for family members, investigating both family and patient parameters. Sixty-four family participants meeting pre-set criteria were recruited from various online Indonesian community forums, social media, seminars/gathering events, and inpatient visits. Each family member was the main care provider for one patient with a schizophrenia diagnosis. Family participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups (control or intervention); both groups received equal personal time and attention from staff but the control group lacked the specific psychoeducational aspect of the intervention. In comparison with the control group, pre- and post-evaluation revealed significant positive effects in the intervention group for illness perception (F (ave) = 124.85; d (ave) = 2.72) and expressed emotion (OR (ave) = 0.39) among family members. For the patients, there was a significant positive effect on medication adherence (F (1, 62) = 21.54; p < 0.001, d (intervention) = 1.31) if their family members were in the intervention group. Partial least-squares path modeling revealed that low expressed emotion in family members was positively correlated with high medication adherence (β = −0.718; p < 0.001) in patients. This study provides evidence for the patient and family benefits of family psychoeducation on schizophrenia in a diverse Indonesian population.