Background: Families living with mental illness experience added burden and need information and support.
Aim: This aim of this study was to explore the experiences of families living close to a depressed individual.
Methods: Eighteen persons were interviewed individually or in focus groups. Data was analysed using a grounded theory-inspired methodology.
Results: Most participants expressed a feeling of not living their own life, struggling to balance relationships, adapting to and re-evaluating their life circumstances, and struggling to voice their ill relatives' and their own needs.
Conclusions: More can be done to help and sustain hope in the relatives of persons with depression.
Badger, T.A. (1996) Family members' experiences living with members with depression. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 18(2), 149-171.
2.
Barbour, R.S. & Kitzinger, J. (eds) (1999) Developing focus group research: Politics, theory and practice. London: Sage.
3.
Barney, L.J., Griffiths, K.M., Jorm, A.F. & Christensen, H. (2006) Stigma about depression and its impact on help-seeking intentions. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40(1), 51-54.
4.
Benzein, E.G. & Berg, A.C. (2005) The level of and relation between hope, hopelessness and fatigue in patients and family members in palliative care. Palliative Medicine, 19, 234-240.
5.
Corrigan, P.W. & Watson, A.C. (2002) The paradox of self-stigma and mental illness. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 9(1), 35-53.
6.
Coyne, J.C., Kessler, R.C., Tal, M., Turnbull, J., Wortman, C.B. & Greden, J.F. (1987) Living with a depressed person. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55(3), 347-352.
7.
Cutcliffe, J.R. (2000) Methodological issues in grounded theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 31(6), 1476-1484.
8.
Cutcliffe, J.R. (2005) Adapt or adopt: Developing and transgressing the methodological boundaries of grounded theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 51(4), 421-428.
9.
D'Abundo, M. & Chally, P. (2004) Struggling with recovery: Participant perspectives on battling an eating disorder. Qualitative Health Research , 14(8), 1094-1106.
10.
Doherty, W.J., McDaniel, S.H. & Hepworth, J. (1994) Medical family therapy: An emerging arena for family therapy. Journal of Family Therapy, 16(1), 31-46.
11.
Fadden, G. & Kuipers, L. (1987) Caring and its burdens. A study of the spouses of depressed patients. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 151(Nov), 660-667.
12.
Glaser, B.G. (1978) Theoretical sensitivity. Advances in the methodology of grounded theory. USThe Sociology Press.
Glaser, B.G. & Strauss, A.L. (1967) The discovery of grounded theory. Strategies for qualitative research. US: Aldine Publishing Company.
15.
Jones, D.W. (2002) Myths, madness and the famíly. The impact of mental illness on families. New York: Palgrave.
16.
Karp, D.A. (1992) Illness ambiguity and the search for meaning. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 21(2), 139-171.
17.
Karp, D.A. & Tanarugsachock, V. (2000) Mental illness, caregiving, and emotion management. Qualitative Health Research, 10(1), 6-25.
18.
Kleinman, A. (1988) Rethinking psychiatry. From cultural category to personal experience. New York: The Free Press.
19.
Krueger, R.A. (1998) Analyzing and reporting focus group results. Focus group kit 6. USSage Publications, Inc.
20.
Kvale, S. (1997) Den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
21.
Lefley, H.P. (1989) Family burden and family stigma in major mental illness. American Psychologist, 44(3), 556-560.
22.
Lukens, E.P., Lohrer, S. & Thorning, H. (2004) Sibling perspectives on severe mental illness: Reflections on self and family. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry , 74(4), 489-501.
23.
Magliano, L., Fadden, G., Economou, M., Held, T., Xavier, M., Guarneri, M., et al. (2000) Family burden and coping strategies in schizophrenia: 1-year follow-up data from the BIOMED I study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 35(3), 109-115.
24.
Mariampolski, H. (1989) Focus groups on sensitive topics: How to get subjects to op. Applied Marketing Research, 29(1), 6.
25.
McCallin, A.M. (2003) Designing a grounded theory study: Some practicalities . Nursing in Critical Care, 8(5), 203-208.
26.
Östman, M. & Hansson, L. (2001) The relationship between coping strategies and family burden among relatives of admitted psychiatric patients. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 15(2), 159-164.
27.
Östman, M. & Hansson, L. (2004) Appraisal of caregiving, burden and psychological distress in relatives of psychiatric inpatients. European Psychiatry, 19(7), 402-407.
28.
Östman, M. & Kjellin, L. (2002) Stigma by association: Psychological factors in relatives of people with mental illness. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 181(6), 494-498.
29.
Östman, M., Wallsten, T. & Kjellin, L. (2005) Family burden and relatives' participation in psychiatric care: Are the patient's diagnosis and the relation to the patient of importance?International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 51(4), 291-301.
30.
Pejlert, A. (2001) Being a parent of an adult son or daughter with severe mental illness receiving professional care: Parents' narratives. Health & Social Care in the Community, 9(4), 194-204.
31.
Rolland, J.S. (1999) Parental illness and disability: A family systems framework. Journal of Family Therapy, 21(3), 242-266.
32.
Rose, L.E. (1996) Families of psychiatric patients: A critical review and future research directions. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing , 10(2), 67-76.
33.
Slade, M. & Priebe, S. (eds) (2006) Choosing methods in mental health research. Mental health research from theory to practice. London: Routledge.
34.
Taylor, B.J. & Donnelly, M. (2006) Professional perspectives on decision making about the long-term care of older people. British Journal of Social Work, 36(5), 807-826.
