Buffering effects of social security benefits for persons with psychiatric disability on caregivers’ burden and quality of life

INTRODUCTION: Out-of-pocket mental health care expenditure has a catastrophic impact on the families living with severe mental illness, with high levels of burden and poor quality of life. AIM: The present study aims to understand the buffering effects of social security benefits for persons with psychiatric disability on caregivers’ burden and quality of life. METHODOLOGY: Two groups of caregivers of people with severe mental illnesses, those receiving disability benefits (n = 100) for the past 6 months and those who were not receiving any benefits (n = 72), were recruited from the out-patient follow-up services. Both the groups were assessed with the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO QoL-Bref). RESULT: Those who were receiving the disability-related social benefits had reported better quality of life only in psychological and social domains. The maximum value of Pearson’s correlation coefficient was observed between physical and psychological domains (r = 0.12; not significant), and the values did not change even after controlling for the social security status. DISCUSSION: The current study did not find full support for buffering effects of social security benefits on caregivers’ quality of life. Thus, there is a need for a comprehensive plan for social security benefits, especially for persons with psychiatric disability, as caregivers are already experiencing high levels of financial stress.