The Lived Experiences of Adolescents Living with a Schizophrenic Mother

Authors

  • Indah Mentari Siagian Student of the Postgraduate Nursing Program, Faculty of Nursing, Padjadjaran University
  • Suryani Suryani Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
  • Titin Sutini Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia

Keywords:

Adolescents, phenomenology, qualitative, schizophrenic mother

Abstract

The character building and the development of adolescents are greatly influenced by their mothers. Adolescents who have a schizophrenic mother can undergo problems in their development. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of adolescents who live with a schizophrenic mother in Bandung. This is a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with six adolescents aged 17-24 who live with a schizophrenic mother in Bandung. Interview transcripts were analyzed using the Colaizzi method. Eight essential themes emerged in this study. The participants were experiencing various negative emotions while living with their mother and lack of mother-child attachment, but they kept on trying to accept the mother’s condition. They expected that there will be no stigma toward their mother. They needed supports and a friend who could understand and give advice. Notwithstanding the negative situations, they could find a lesson behind the hardship and the father became the source of inspiration. Getting supports from the father and having good friends are the main keys for them to survive. The implications for nursing practice are the need to provide health education programs to help adolescents manage emotions, the development of family-focused care programs, and peer-support groups. Further research is needed in Indonesia to develop appropriate interventions to address mental health problems for adolescents who have schizophrenic mothers in Indonesia.

References

Agam, R., Tamir, S., & Golan, M. (2015). Gender differences in respect to self-esteem and body image as well as response to adolescents’ school-based prevention programs. Journal of Psychology and Clinical Psychiatry, 2(5), 00092. https://doi.org//10.15406/jpcpy.2015.02.00092

Bowden, V. R., & Greenberg, C. S. (2010). Children and Their Families: the Continuum of Care. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Chan, S., & Heidi, Y. (2010). Growing up with a parent with schizophrenia: What children say they need. Journal of Children’s Services. Journal of Children’s Services, 5(4), 31-42. https://doi.org/10.5042/jcs.2010.0693

Cucu-Ciuhan, G. (2015). Raised by a schizophrenic mother: Application of emotion focused therapy in a clinical case with mild depression. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 205, 30-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.09.007

Dam, K., & Hall, E. O. C. (2016). Navigating in an unpredictable daily life: A metasynthesis on children’s experiences living with a parent with severe mental illness. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 30(3), 442-457. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12285

Fauziah, S., Suryani, & Hernawaty, T. (2019). The sundanese family live experience about stigma toward mental illness. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science, 8(4), 69-76. https://doi.org/10.9790/1959-0804036976

Ferguson, B. (2011). Children of parents with mental illness: Parental disclosure, children’s illness beliefs and the development of a shared understanding of mental illness in the family [Doctoral Dissertasion, University of Adelaide]. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia.

Foster, K. (2010). ‘You’d think this roller coaster was never going to stop’: Experiences of adult children of parents with serious mental illness. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(21-22), 3143-3151. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03293.x

Foster, K., O’Brien, L., & Korhonen, T. (2012). Developing resilient children and families when parents have mental illness: A familyâ€focused approach. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 21(1), 3-11. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1447-0349.2011.00754.x

Grové, C., Reupert, A., & Maybery, D. (2016). The perspectives of young people of parents with a mental illness regarding preferred interventions and supports. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(10), 3056-3065. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0468-8

Herbert, H. S., Manjula, M., & Philip, M. (2013). Growing up with a parent having schizophrenia: Experiences and resilience in the offsprings. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 35(2), 148-153. https://doi.org/10.4103/0253-7176.116243

Hernandez, M., & Barrio, C. (2015). Perceptions of subjective burden among Latino families caring for a loved one with schizophrenia. Community Mental Health Journal, 51(8), 939-948. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9881-5

Jundong, J., Kuja-Halkola, R., Hultman, C., Långström, N., D’Onofrio, B. M., & Lichtenstein, P. (2012). Poor school performance in offspring of patients with schizophrenia: What are the mechanisms?. Psychological Medicine, 42(1), 111-123. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291711001127

Kadiyono, A. L., & Harding, D. (2017). Pengaruh nilai budaya sunda dalam upaya peningkatan kesejahteraan psikologis korban bencana tanah longsor. (The influence of Sundanese cultural values in an effort to improve the psychological well-being of landslide victims). Journal of Psychological Science and Profession, 1(3), 26-35. https://doi.org/10.24198/jpsp.v1i3.15232

Minev, M., Petrova, B., Mineva, K., Petkova, M., & Strebkova, R. (2018). Self-esteem in adolescents. Trakia Journal of Sciences, 16(2), 114-118. https://doi.org/10.15547/tjs.2018.02.007

Perera, D. N., Short, L., & Fernbacher, S. (2014). There is a lot to it: Being a mother and living with a mental illness. Advances in Mental Health, 12(3), 167-181. https://doi.org/10.1080/18374905.2014.11081895

Petrowski, C. E., & Stein, C. H. (2016). Young women’s accounts of caregiving, family relationships, and personal growth when mother has mental illness. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(9), 2873-2884. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0441-6

Power, J., Goodyear, M., Maybery, D., Reupert, A., O’Hanlon, B., Cuff, R., & Perlesz, A. (2016). Family resilience in families where a parent has a mental illness. Journal of Social Work, 16(1), 66-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017314568081

Ranning, A., Laursen, T., Agerbo, E., Thorup, A., Hjorthøj, C., Jepsen, J. R. M., & Nordentoft, M. (2018). School performance from primary education in the adolescent offspring of parents with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder-a national, register-based study. Psychological Medicine, 48(12), 1993-2000. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717003518

Santrock, J. (2014). Adolescence (15th Ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Suryani, S. (2015). Caring for a family member with schizophrenia: The experience of family carers in Indonesia. Malaysian Journal of Psychiatry, 24(1).

Suryani, S., Komariah, M., & Karlin, W. (2014). Persepsi keluarga terhadap skizofrenia. (Family perceptions of schizophrenia). Jurnal Keperawatan Padjadjaran, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.24198/jkp.v2i2.75.g71

Sutini, T., Keliat, B. A., & Gayatri, D. (2014). Pengaruh terapi self-help group terhadap koping keluarga dengan anak retardasi mental. (The effect of self-help group therapy on coping with families with mentally retarded children). Jurnal Keperawatan Padjadjaran, 2(2). Doi: https://doi.org/10.24198/jkp.v2i2.74.g70

Van Loon, L. M., Van de Ven, M. O., Van Doesum, K. T., Witteman, C. L., & Hosman, C. M. (2014). The relation between parental mental illness and adolescent mental health: The role of family factors. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23(7), 1201-1214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9781-7

Yamamoto, R., & Keogh, B. (2018). Children’s experiences of living with a parent with mental illness: A systematic review of qualitative studies using thematic analysis. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 25(2), 131-141. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12415

Yogman, M., & Garfield, C. F. (2016). Fathers’ roles in the care and development of their children: The role of pediatricians. Pediatrics, 138(1). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1128

Downloads

Published

2021-04-01