ABSTRACT
OBJECTS: The study was designed to find out if there is any socio-psychological factors that could distinguish families with psychiatric patients apart from normal families. METHODS: A total of 235 psychiatric patients' family samples, 467 normal family samples, and total 802 family samples were randomly gathered from May 1995 to July 1995 in Seoul. Family Mental Health Questionnaire developed by the authors along with questions concerning family's way of communication were used as a method of evaluating the socio-psycologicla factor of the families. RESULTS: Compared to normal families, psychiatric patients' families show differences in these sociopsycological factors: emotional stability, open heartedness within family, family bonds, openness towards community, sexual relation of couple, conflict in the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, unconditional parental love towards children, control over the children and patriarchic family orientation. Among the socio-psychological factors, parental attachment toward children and the self-sacrifice devotion toward parents show no significant differences between psychiatric patients' families and normal families. The best factor which distinguishes psychiatric patients' families apart from normal families is the conflict in the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Other factors which also show significant differences are openness towards community and unconditional parental love towards children. Within psychiatric patients' families, mother's opinions act as a main source of decision making throughout the family communication process. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that unstable, closed socio-psychological characteristics of psychiatric patients' families could result in negative effects during the therapeutic process.