The Journal of Community Health Management 2023;10(2):69–74 Content available at: https://www.ipinnovative.com/open-access-journals The Journal of Community Health Management Journal homepage: https://www.jchm.in/ Original Research Article Perceived social support and self-esteem among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia and normal control Lokesh Kumar Ranjan 1, *, Pramod R Gupta 2 1 Dept. of Psychiatric Social Work, Central India Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Chhattisgarh, India 2 Dept. of Psychiatry, Central India Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Chhattisgarh, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 15-05-2023 Accepted 23-06-2023 Available online 10-07-2023 Keywords: Social support Self-esteem Schizophrenia ABSTRACT Background: Caregivers of patients with schizophrenia have an impact on self-esteem and social support due to the nature of the symptoms and the prolonged duration of illness. Aim: To assess and compare the social support and self-esteem among caregivers of chronic patients with Schizophrenia. Materials and Methods: The study was cross-sectional. It was conducted at the outpatient department (OPD) of CIIMHANS, Dewada, Rajnandgoan, Chhattisgarh, India. A total of 100 (50 caregivers of patients with schizophrenia and 50 normal controls) samples were selected through a purposive sampling technique and informed about the study after giving their informed consent. Socio-demographics, PGI Social Support Questionnaire and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were all part of the interview. Result: The study results showed there was a significant difference in social support and self-esteem among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia and normal controls. The result also indicated a significant positive relationship between social support and self-esteem among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Conclusion: The findings indicated the caregivers have poor social support and self-esteem and social support strongly contributes to self-esteem. These caregivers need psychosocial interventions to enhance the overall family environment to have a better adaptive state among families. This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. For reprints contact: reprint@ipinnovative.com 1. Introduction Schizophrenia is the most common psychiatric disorder, which is characterised by hallucinations, fantastically chaotic emotional lives, and relatively intact intellectual preservation. 1 In India, it constitutes approximately 0.64% of all people with major psychiatric complaints. 2 It is also a serious chronic psychiatric disorder that can cause long-term disabilities. In a previous study, 53.7% of individuals with schizophrenia displayed disability certifiable in India. 3 Consequently, it affects both the sufferer and their caregivers/family members. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: lokeshr00@gmail.com (L. K. Ranjan). Social support is defined as a person’s personal assumptions and views about how much they believe, love, respect, and appreciate others. They are a part of a community where there is open communication and shared responsibility. 4 Social support has been found to act as a protective shield against the unfavourable consequences of providing care for family members. 5 In addition, caregivers frequently struggle with social issues as a result of others around them. This results in discrimination and stereotypes against carers, making it even more challenging for them to ask for assistance and support from others. 6,7 Cechnicki and Wojciechowska 8 revealed the positive correlation between higher subjective treatment satisfaction and a compound https://doi.org/10.18231/j.jchm.2023.016 2394-272X/© 2023 Innovative Publication, All rights reserved. 69