Mental Illness in the Family: The Experiences of Well Siblings of Young Adults with Mood and/or Anxiety Disorders

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Alexandra Dimmer ◽  
Linda Rozmovits ◽  
Stephanie Babinski ◽  
Susan Law
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Adult Siblings ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
The Family ◽  
Well Siblings ◽  
Significant Health

Current research on well siblings of individuals with mental illness focuses predominantly on adult siblings of individuals with schizophrenia, eating disorders, and psychosis. Few studies examine the experiences of young adult siblings of individuals with mood and/or anxiety disorders. We conducted focus groups with 21 post-secondary students, gathering their experiences of living with a sibling with mood and/or anxiety disorders. Our findings highlight the important role well siblings play in their sibling’s care, and the significant health and social impacts of living with a mentally ill sibling, particularly during adolescence. The needs of young adult well siblings of individuals with mood and/or anxiety disorders must be considered in the provision of family-centred care.

Families Living with Mental Illness

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditi Rana
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Primary Caregivers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
The Family ◽  
Partner Research

Mental illness is a growing reality of our times. Usually in a typical Indian family, the parents act as the primary caregivers for the child suffering from mental disorder. For adult sufferers, it can also be siblings or offspring, and  at times even spouse or partner. Research on the experiences of families of mentally ill people has been minimal in the Indian context. This study aims to shift the focus from the mentally ill patients to the suffering of the caregivers and families of the patient keeping in mind the interconnected well being of the family in a collectivist culture. Following a qualitative approach, narratives have been taken from the family members of mentally ill (narratives of 8 families with mentally ill person) and also the mental health professionals (two) through semi structured interviews. The findings suggest that the family members suffer from a significant amount of stress accompanied by burden. Also, they feel secluded from the society and experience a lack of assistance to deal with the mentally ill member of the family.

scholarly journals Cross-Sectional Trend Analysis of the NCHA II Survey Data on Canadian Post-Secondary Student Mental Health and Wellbeing from 2013 to 2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Linden ◽  
Randall Boyes ◽  
Heather Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Post Secondary Students

BACKGROUND: Canadian post-secondary students are considered to be at risk for chronic stress and languishing mental health, but there has been no longitudinal analysis of the available population-level data. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in the overall and sex-specific prevalence of self-reported stress, distress, mental illness, and help seeking behaviours among Canadian post-secondary students over the past several years. METHODS: Using the 2013, 2016, and 2019 iterations of the National College Health Assessment II Canadian Reference data, we conducted a trend analysis for each variable of interest, stratified by sex. The significance and magnitude of the changes were modelled using cumulative linked ordinal regression models and log binomial regression models.RESULTS: With few exceptions, we observed significant increases over time in the proportion of students reporting symptoms of psychological distress, mental illness diagnoses, and help seeking for mental health related challenges. Female students reported a higher level of stress than male students, with a statistically significant increase in the stress level reported by female students observed over time. In all cases, larger proportions of female students were observed compared to male students, with the proportion of female students who self-reported mental illness diagnoses nearly doubling that of males. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis indicated that the proportion of students self-reporting mental health related challenges, including stress, psychological distress, and diagnosed mental illnesses increased between the 2013, 2016 and 2019 iterations of the NCHA II conducted among Canadian post-secondary students.

scholarly journals Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Family Social Interaction with Mental Disorders in Medan Sunggal, Medan

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-14
Author(s):  
Sakinah Al Muniroh Nasution ◽  
Wardiyah Daulay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Positive Direction ◽  
The Family

Family member with mental illness causes inferiority, shamefulness, and minimal function in the community.  In some cases, mentally ill patients withdrawn from interaction and refuse to communicate.  The objective of the research was to analyze the correlation between self-esteem and social interaction in the family with mentally ill patients in Kelurahan Medan Sunggal, Medan. This was a descriptive quantitative study with correlation method. The samples were 18 family members who suffered from a mental disorder, with purposive sampling technique. The data collection using questionnaires and data analyses is undergone with univariate analysis and frequency distribution.  The bivariate analysis applied Spearman's Rho test. The result of the research showed that 15 respondents (83.3%) had high self-esteem and 11 respondents (61.1%) had a good social interaction. There was a significant correlation between self-esteem and social interaction in a family with a mentally ill patient (P-value = 0.012) with positive direction (r = 0.576). It is concluded that a high self-esteem correlates well with the social interaction among the family members with mental illness. It is recommended for family members to maintain their self-esteem and social interaction capacity. A mentally disorder person should get social support from family, health care providers, the government, and society.

scholarly journals The family as a place of education. Between a school-centred focus on education and family needs

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 93-113
Author(s):  
Ulrike Loch
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Family Needs ◽  
Even Start ◽  
Family Coping ◽  
Educational Discourse ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Child And Youth Welfare

The results of the PISA studies over recent years have revealed the social selectivity of the scholastic education system. Based on my empirical research on families with mentally ill parents, I show how, for the children involved, social exclusion begins before they even start school; how the parents' mental illness is seen to affect the children, and what support the families in question require. This shows how important it is to take family coping situations into account in the educational discourse on the child and youth welfare services and formal education systems.

Living With a Mentally Ill Parent

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne V. Trondsen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Parental Mental Illness ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
The Family ◽  
Considerable Body ◽  
Improve Health

Although a considerable body of research has described the implications of parental mental illness, the perspectives of children and adolescents have rarely been addressed. In this article, I explore adolescents’ experiences in everyday life, based on an action-oriented study of a Norwegian online self-help group for adolescents (aged 15 to 18) with mentally ill parents. The analysis was conducted through participant observation of the group for 2 years. The adolescents experienced a variety of difficult challenges related to their parent’s mental illness: lack of information and openness; unpredictability and instability; fear; loneliness; and loss and sorrow. However, they also discussed strategies for active management of the challenges arising from the family situation. I argue that these adolescents can be understood as vulnerable as well as active participants in managing their everyday lives. I emphasize the importance of including perspectives of children and adolescents in further research so as to improve health care for families with parental mental illness.

Children's Reactions to Mental Illness in the Family

1978 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
pp. 530-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane S. Sturges
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Family Member ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
The Family

The idiosyncratic role a child assumes when a mentally ill family member is hospitalized reflects the family's interaction and indicates how it deals with stress

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