Open AccessHow Early Life Adversities Influence Later Life Family Interactions for Individuals with Schizophrenia in Outpatient Treatment: A Qualitative Analysis
Author(s) -
Supriya Misra,
Kelsey Johnson,
Lindsey Parnarouskis,
Karestan C. Koenen,
David R. Williams,
Bizu Gelaye,
Christina P.C. Borba
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
community mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.639
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1573-2789
pISSN - 0010-3853
DOI - 10.1007/s10597-020-00627-2
Subject(s) - facilitator , psychiatry , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychology , family life , schizoaffective disorder , outpatient clinic , ethnic group , clinical psychology , medicine , psychosis , gender studies , social psychology , sociology , anthropology
Many individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia state that family relationships are a primary facilitator of their recovery. However, they also report higher rates of early life adversities, typically in their family environments. We used modified Grounded Theory on 20 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with adults (half ethnic minorities, half women) diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and receiving treatment at an urban psychiatric outpatient clinic to investigate how early life adversities influence later life family interactions. Approximately half of participants did not mention early life adversities and described positive family interactions and perceived supportive involvement in their illness. The other half of participants experienced abusive and/or unstable childhood homes that many explicitly linked to limited family interactions and perceived absence of support for their illness. These findings suggest that limited familial interactions following early life adversities may reflect resilient boundary setting, and indicate the value of considering these adversities before incorporating families in care.