First episode psychosis: A comparison of caregiving appraisals in parents caring for the same child

Abstract

Background:The first onset of psychosis can be a traumatic event for diagnosed individuals but can also impact negatively on their families. Little is known about how parents of the same child make sense of the illness. In mothers and fathers caring for the same child with early psychosis, the current study assessed their similarities and differences in key areas of their caregiving role.Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, parental pairs caring for the same child treated within an early intervention in psychosis service, completed selfreport measures on their caregiving experiences, illness beliefs, coping styles and affect.Results: Data from 44 mothers and fathers were analysed. Analyses confirmed that parents reported similar levels of emotional dysfunction and conceptualized the illness in broadly similar ways with regard to what they understood the illness to be, their emotional reactions to the illness, perceived illness consequences and beliefs about treatment. Significant differences were identified in their beliefs about the timeline of the illness and reported approaches to coping.Conclusions: With exception of beliefs about illness timeline and an expressed preference for use of emotion-based coping, parent caregivers of the same child in early psychosis services are likely to report similar illness beliefs and caregiving reactions.Efforts to ensure staff awareness of the potential areas of divergence in parental caregiving appraisals and exploring the implications of the divergence for the caregiving relationship and patient outcomes are indicated.

‘If he feels better I'll feel better’ relationships with individuals at high‐risk of developing psychosis

“…Early psychosis literature typically focuses on females as the predominant caregivers (Cotton et al, 2013; Onwumere et al, 2020). In the current study, mothers were often providing sole care whilst working, managing the home, looking after other children and trying to access additional support for the individual with the ARMS.…”

“…Family members of individuals with an ARMS have reported a lack of understanding regarding the individual's symptoms, reduced motivation, and reduced functioning (Izon et al, 2019). Beliefs and understanding are often shared between family members (Onwumere et al, 2020), which may explain the shared initial understanding and similar emotional reactions that siblings and parents demonstrate. In contrast, some siblings may have even more knowledge about their sibling's mental health challenges than their parents, for example suicidal thoughts and behaviours (Dyregrov & Dyregrov, 2005).…”

Family Caregivers’ Trajectories of Distress While Caring for a Person With Serious Mental Illness

“…Traditionally, women are more likely to be the main caregivers, to engage in more intense caregiving, and to report a higher caregiver burden (Pinquart & Sorensen, 2006). Nonetheless, Onwumere et al (2021) showed that both female and male parents had similar levels of emotional distress and similar understanding of the illness, possibly reflecting increased gender equality.…”

Lived experiences of adolescents admitted for first-episode psychosis in South Africa

“…Most studies have focused on the experiences and support needs of parents and family members of patients with firstepisode psychosis 20 or practitioner-centred views of working with patients with psychosis and their families. 21 This study is one of a few that explored the lived experiences of adolescents admitted for first-episode psychosis into an adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit.…”