Background:Parental mental illness has been found to have an impact on offsprings in their emotional, social, and behavioral aspects of life.Aims:To examine the experiences of offsprings of a parent having schizophrenia and to study their resilience.Materials and Methods:A sample of 45 adults with one parent diagnosed with schizophrenia was selected using purposive sampling. Subjects were assessed using socio-demographic data sheet, semi-structured interview schedule, and Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale.Results:The experiences perceived by them as different from children of healthy parents included negative experiences in social (49%) and emotional aspects (40%), lack of support from the parent who is ill (40%), and burden (66%) in various areas. Majority of the offsprings were satisfied with the parenting received (70%). About 60% of them reported medium resilience, and 24% and 15% reported high and low resilience, respectively. Majority of those with medium and high resilience had supportive relationship with other family members. Social support was the most frequently reported factor that helped them to cope with difficulties.Conclusions:Growing up with a parent having mental illness can have negative impact on offsprings. However, it can also have positive effects in terms of developing resilience in the presence of good support system.

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Background: Understanding the explanatory models of family caregivers is particularly important in interdependent contexts like India, where they often play a significant role in the help-seeking behaviours, treatment decision-making and long-term care of those diagnosed with mental illness. Aims: This study was planned to explore the diversity of explanatory models among family caregivers at a centre for recovery-oriented rehabilitation services in South India. Methods: The sample for this study included 60 family caregivers of patients referred to Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services within a tertiary-care hospital for mental health and neurosciences. Bart’s Explanatory Model Inventory, including a semi-structured interview and a checklist, assessed the family caregivers’ explanatory model of distress on five domains: identity, cause, timeline, consequences and control/cure/treatment. Results: The results indicated the coexistence of multiple causal explanatory models including psychosocial, supernatural, situational and behavioural contributors. While 36.7% of the caregivers displayed two explanatory models, 33.3% of the caregivers held three explanatory models and 16.6% of the caregivers endorsed four explanatory models. Caregivers shared their concerns about varied consequences of mental illness but less than half of them were aware of the name of the psychiatric disorder. While they accessed various forms of treatments and adjunctive supports such as prayer, medication was the most frequently used treatment method. Conclusions: The findings have implications for collaborative goal setting in recovery-oriented services for persons with mental illness and their families.

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