Effects of the family resilience enhancement program for families of patients with chronic schizophrenia

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Family Resilience Enhancement Program (FREP) on family hardiness, family sense of coherence, family problem solving communication, family crisis oriented personal evaluation, and adaptation in families of patients with chronic schizophrenia. Methods: The study design was a nonequivalent control group pre-post test design. Study participants were 17 families in the experimental group and 17 in the control group. Ten sessions of FREP were provided over 5 weeks. The data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0. Results: There were statistically significant differences in family hardiness, family sense of coherence, family problem-solving communication, family crisis-oriented personal evaluation, social resources, and family adaptation between the experimental group and the control group. Conclusion: FREP based on the family resilience model developed in this study, shows the effect of leading the families to positive family adaptation.