Caregiver criticism, help-giving, and the burden of schizophrenia among Mexican American families.

Objectives: This study tested an attribution model of help-giving in family caregivers of persons with schizophrenia as it relates to caregivers' reported burden. We hypothesized (a) that caregivers' attributions of their ill relatives' responsibility for their symptoms would be associated with more negative and less positive affective reactions, (b) that affective reactions would be related to perceptions of administered support, and (c) that support would in turn predict greater burden.

Methods: We examined 60 family caregivers of Mexican origin living in Southern California.