The psychological well-being of siblings caregivers of patients with severe mental disorders: an observational study The present study explores some psychological characteristics of siblings caregivers of patients with severe mental disorders. The authors analyze aspects as the siblings’ perception of the relationship with their parents, the traumatic experiences, the personality traits, and some psycho-social characteristics. The sample was composed of 60 participants divided in 30 siblings of people with severe mental disorders (group A) recruited in associations and psychiatric facilities, and 30 control siblings. All the participants were living in the North of Italy. We administered the following self-report questionnaires: the Parental Bonding Instrument- PBI, il Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2-MMPI-2, the Inventory of Traumatic Experiences-TEC and an anamnestic questionnaire.Our results showed that the siblings caregivers of people with severe mental disorders present some peculiar characteristics compared to the control group. Specifically, they are more likely to have a different familiar structure, problematic relationships with parents and traumatic experiences within the family than the control group.
Keywords: siblings, caregivers, mental health, wellbeing, parental relationships, traumatic experiences.

Francesca Pierazzuoli, Elisa Gatti, Laura Gorla, Giacomo Tognasso, Alessandra Santona, in "TERAPIA FAMILIARE" 126/2021, pp. 81-101, DOI:10.3280/TF2021-126006