Abstract
Caregivers of individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders are frequently exposed to high subjective burden, which may undermine their psychological resilience. Trait Emotional Intelligence (TEI), particularly its self-control facet, has been proposed as a protective factor; however, the mechanisms linking caregiver burden, self-control, and resilience are not well established. This cross-sectional study investigated whether self-control mediates the relationship between caregiver burden and psychological resilience among psychiatric caregivers in Oman. A total of 187 caregivers attending a tertiary outpatient clinic completed validated Arabic versions of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF), the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), and the Zarit Burden Interview-Short Form (ZBI-12). Mediation analysis was conducted using 5,000 bootstrap resamples, adjusting for sociodemographic variables. Higher caregiver burden was significantly associated with lower self-control (β = -0.28, p = 0.002), and higher self-control was significantly associated with greater resilience (β = 0.52, p < 0.001). The indirect effect of burden on resilience via self-control was statistically significant (β = -0.15, 95% CI: -0.24 to -0.07), whereas the direct effect was non-significant after accounting for self-control, consistent with full mediation. These findings suggest that self-control may play a mediating role in the relationship between caregiver burden and resilience. Interventions targeting emotion-regulation skills could potentially enhance resilience among psychiatric caregivers, however longitudinal studies are needed to establish causal pathways.