[The course of illness and problems of schizophrenic women and men from the relatives' perspective].

Objectives: Members of HPE, an Austrian self-help organization for the relatives of mentally ill people, were questioned about their opinion with regard to the situation of families with a mentally ill member.

Methods: A questionnaire was sent to the addresses of members of this self-help organisation. 182 respondents reported to care for 132 male and 50 female sufferers diagnosed as having a psychosis from the schizophrenic spectrum replied.