Family challenges experienced by women with serious mental illness

• Published date: 01 February 2022
• Author: Lauren Mizock,Jessica Salmonsen,Shaneika Smith
• Date: 01 February 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12566

L M, J S,  S SFielding Graduate University

Family challenges experienced by women with

serious mental illness

Objective: The present qualitative, grounded

theory study was conducted with 20 women

with serious mental illness (SMI) to better

understand these familial relationships and

experiences from their gender and mental

health identities.

Background: Research suggests that women

with SMI face unique challenges in their rela-

tionships with family. However, much of the

literature in this area has focused on the expe-

riences of family caregivers or the motherhood

role rather than their general experiences with

family.

Methods: Twenty women with SMI took part in

this qualitative study, which utilized grounded

theory methodology to develop theory from the

data collected.

Results: Several themes were identied,

including disacknowledge (family members’

avoidance or denial of mental health symp-

toms of women with SMI), under-expectations

(family members’ underestimations of the abil-

ities of women with SMI), over-expectations

(family members’ overestimations of the

abilities of women with SMI), and role shift

(changes in the family role of a woman who

develops SMI).

Conclusion: Women with SMI face a number

of challenges in the family setting that can be

uniquely gendered.

Implications: Clinical implications and future

research directions are discussed.

Fielding Graduate University (lmizock@elding.edu).

The process of deinstitutionalization resulted in

the transition of a large number of people with

mental illness from treatment facilities to the

care of their family members (Hasson-Ohayon

et al., 2011). Some estimates suggest that 50%

to 90% of individuals who have a mental ill-

ness are currently living with or being cared for

by family members (Pernice-Duca et al., 2015).

Yet people with SMI often face mistreatment,

stigma, and abuse in their families (Koschorke

et al., 2017; Muenzenmaier et al., 2014; Richard-

son et al., 2013).

One area of research in need of further atten-

tion is the family experiences of women with

serious mental illness (SMI). Some research

has examined women’s experiences in relation

to their general social network (Cogan, 1998;

Pickens, 1999) and their romantic partners and

friends (Mizock, DeMartini, et al., 2019), in con-

trast to their male counterparts. However, much

of the related literature has overlooked the fam-

ily experiences of women with SMI, focusing on

the challenges to their roles as mothers (Crowe &

Brinkley, 2015; Koschorke et al., 2017; Nichol-

son et al., 1998b; Perera et al., 2014).

Thus, more research is needed on the chal-

lenges women with SMI face with their families

to inform care and support their recovery pro-

cess. Hence, the present qualitative study was

conducted with women with SMI to broadly

characterize their family challenges. In the

present article, a review of the literature is

provided on the related research on family

issues of women with SMI. Given the limited

research on women with SMI and their family

experiences, research related to other aspects

426Family Relations 71 (February 2022): 426–438

DOI:10.1111/fare.12566