A preliminary study of the psycho-social burden of bipolar disorder on siblings

Abstract

INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a recurrent mood disorder with a prevalence of 1-2% in the general population. Individuals with BD experience significant impacts on family and social relationships, suffer from occupational instability, and are at greater risk of self-harm and suicide. This research aims to examine experiences and concerns of siblings of individuals with BD. METHODS: Quantitative data was collected from siblings of persons with BD through the psychiatry clinics at North Colombo Teaching Hospital after informed consent. For data collection, the ‘Sibling Impact Questionnaire–Bipolar Disorder’ (SIQ-BD) was developed. The SIQ-BD measures the impact on a sibling of a person with BD, across three timeframes, the ‘past year’, ‘over the years’, and ’worst time’. RESULTS: Out of 48 siblings (14 males, 34 females; mean age 42.7 years), 44 (11 males, 33 females) act as care givers to their siblings. The highest burden was during the ‘worst time’; and during this ‘worst time’ 16.7% of siblings worried that their sibling may commit suicide ‘very much so’, followed by 12.5% and 6.2% during the ‘whole time’ and ‘past year’ respectively. On a positive note, stigma was reported as high by only one sibling during the ‘worst time’ and none during the ‘past year’ and ‘whole time’. The highest disruption to daily life was experienced during the ‘worst time’. Providing financial support during the past year was significantly associated with higher burden (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: Siblings of persons with BD experience a mixed burden with low perception of stigma in this preliminary study.