TY - JOUR
T1 - A grounded theory of families responding to mental illness
AU - Rose, Linda
AU - Mallinson, R. Kevin
AU - Walton-Moss, Benita
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2002/8
Y1 - 2002/8
N2 - Despite decades of research documenting family burden related to mental illness of a relative, little is known about families' responses over time. A grounded theory study was designed to describe families' responses to these severe mental illnesses. Twenty-nine participants representing 17 families were interviewed 3 times over 2 years. Interviews were analyzed using constant comparison. Living with ambiguity of mental illness was the central concern. The basic social process was pursuing normalcy and included confronting the ambiguity of mental illness, seeking to control impact of the illness, and seeing possibilities for the future. Goals were managing crises, containing and controlling symptoms, and crofting a notion of "normal." Strategies were being vigilant, setting limits on patients, invoking logic, dealing with sense of loss, seeing patients' strengths, and taking on roles. The study revealed that families were profoundly affected by the social contexts of mental illnesses.
AB - Despite decades of research documenting family burden related to mental illness of a relative, little is known about families' responses over time. A grounded theory study was designed to describe families' responses to these severe mental illnesses. Twenty-nine participants representing 17 families were interviewed 3 times over 2 years. Interviews were analyzed using constant comparison. Living with ambiguity of mental illness was the central concern. The basic social process was pursuing normalcy and included confronting the ambiguity of mental illness, seeking to control impact of the illness, and seeing possibilities for the future. Goals were managing crises, containing and controlling symptoms, and crofting a notion of "normal." Strategies were being vigilant, setting limits on patients, invoking logic, dealing with sense of loss, seeing patients' strengths, and taking on roles. The study revealed that families were profoundly affected by the social contexts of mental illnesses.
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U2 - 10.1177/019394590202400505
DO - 10.1177/019394590202400505
M3 - Article
C2 - 12148833
AN - SCOPUS:0036676650
SN - 0193-9459
VL - 24
SP - 516
EP - 536
JO - Western journal of nursing research
JF - Western journal of nursing research
IS - 5
ER -