In this article a study is reported on the nature and severity of the consequences of psychotic disorders for patients' relatives. Object of study were 700 members of Ypsilon, a Dutch family organization. The consequences were assessed with the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ), which contains four dimensions of burden (tension, worrying, supervision, urging) and a total score. A separate list of 19 symptoms to be scored by the relatives showed four factors (psychosis, agitation, apathy, affect).

By means of multiple regression analyses the relationship between the consequences and (a) characteristics of the patient, (b) characteristics of the relative, and (c) characteristics of their relationship was examined. These analyses showed that burden can be mainly predicted by (a) patients' actual symptomatology, (b) the relatives feeling to be able to cope with the psychiatric problems, and (c) the total amount of hours personal contact between patient and relative. The authors comment on the clinical relevance of their findings.