(PS8-C57) Effectiveness of an Intervention for Family Members of People with Personality Disorder. Is It Better Face-to-face or Online?

Introduction: Personality disorders (PD) have a serious impact on the lives of individuals who suffer from them and those around them. It is common for family members to experience high levels of burden, anxiety, and depression, and deterioration in their quality of life. However, few interventions have been developed for family members of people with PD. Family Connections (FC) (Hoffman and Fruzzetti, 2005) is the most empirically supported intervention for family members of people with Borderline Personality Disorder. 

Aim: The objective of this study is to explore the effectiveness of online vs face-to-face of the intervention for family members.

Method: This was a non-randomized pilot study with a pre-post evaluation and two conditions: The sample consisted of 45 family members distributed in two conditions: FC face-to-face (20) performed by groups before the pandemic, and FC online (25), performed by groups during the pandemic. All participants completed the evaluation protocol before and after the intervention. 

Results: There is a statistically significant improvement in levels of burden (η² = .471), depression, anxiety, and stress (η²= .279), family empowerment η² =.243), family functioning (η²= .345), and quality of life (µ2 η²= .237). There were no differences based on the application format burden (η² = .134); depression, anxiety, and stress (η² = .087); family empowerment (η²= 0,27), family functioning (η²= .219); and quality of life (η²= .006), respectively).
Conclusions: This study provides relevant data about the possibility of implementing an intervention in a sample of family members of people with PD in an online format without losing its effectiveness. It is also the first study to compare the online application with the face-to-face application, with no difference in any of the variables. The online application will facilitate access to people who need help and would otherwise not be able to receive it. All of this represents a great step forward in terms of providing psychological treatment to all those who may need it.