Caregiver Burden Linked to Death Anxiety in Psychiatric Caregivers

Caregivers of people with psychiatric disorders had moderate levels of caregiver burden and high levels of death anxiety in a study involving 150 caregivers at a psychiatry outpatient clinic. The analysis found a positive association between the two: greater caregiver burden was linked to greater death anxiety. Linear regression indicated that caregiver burden was a significant predictor of death anxiety, accounting for 30.7% of its variance, or R² = 0.307.

The study population consisted of caregivers of 360 people receiving treatment at the psychiatry outpatient clinic, with 150 caregivers included in the final sample. The research examined the relationship between caregiver burden and death anxiety within this clinic-based population. Caregiving for people with psychiatric disorders may create emotional, physical, and social demands, and the findings connect the burden experienced by caregivers with elevated death anxiety. The result is an association rather than evidence that one of the two variables directly causes the other.

The researchers also found that caregiver burden and death anxiety differed according to several caregiver characteristics. The supplied study summary does not identify those characteristics or specify which groups had higher or lower values, so the results do not support conclusions about differences between particular types of caregivers. It also does not provide details about the measurement instruments, recruitment procedures, or uncertainty intervals for the regression analysis. Those omissions limit the extent to which readers can assess how the variables were assessed and how precisely the reported association was estimated.

Based on the results, the authors recommend regular support and psychoeducation programs for caregivers of people with psychiatric disorders. They also recommend home-based health services when necessary and regular social-support interventions intended to reduce death anxiety. Involving caregivers in treatment and support programs for people with psychiatric disorders may strengthen family support and contribute to better caregiving outcomes. The study reports these as proposed responses to the observed relationship; it does not test or demonstrate the effectiveness of those interventions. Overall, the research identifies a statistically significant link between moderate caregiver burden and high death anxiety among the participating caregivers, with burden explaining 30.7% of the variance in the latter measure.

Subject of Research: The association between caregiver burden and death anxiety among caregivers of people receiving psychiatric outpatient treatment.

Article Title: The relationship between caregiver burden and death anxiety among caregivers of people with psychiatric disorders

Article References: Kaçan, H., Savaş, S., & Değer, V. B. (2026). The relationship between caregiver burden and death anxiety among caregivers of people with psychiatric disorders. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05553-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05553-8

Keywords: caregiver burden, death anxiety, psychiatric disorders, family caregivers, outpatient care, linear regression, psychoeducation, social support, mental health, relationship, between, caregiver