Finding the rhythm, maintaining the frame : how children manage living with a parent with a mental illness
| Autor: | Mordoch, Elaine Margaret |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2005 |
| Druh dokumentu: | Text |
| Popis: | This grounded theory study examined the perceptions of children living with a parent with a mental illness. The interpretive qualitative design was guided by symbolic interactionism. The aim of the study was to construct a substantive theory that would explain how children perceived and managed the experience of living with a parent with a mental illness. Data were collected through interview, participant observation and field notes. Twenty-two children between the ages of six and sixteen, who were living part or full time with a parent with a mental illness, were interviewed. Theoretical sampling was used to identify incidents and participants; ten of the children were interviewed twice. Data collection and analysis were undertaken concurrently. Constant comparative analysis was used to develop the substantive theory via open, selective, and theoretical coding. The basic social psychological processes suggest that children focus their energy and time on finding the rhythm with their parents while maintaining the frame, by establishing connections within a safe and comfortable distance between themselves and their parents. To find the rhythm, these children monitored their parents and their daily rhythms and then adjusted to their parents' behaviours to try to maintain family security, stability, and their connections to their parents. In maintaining the frame of their relationships with their parents, children preserved themselves by finding a way to have a life and identity of their own without being engulfed by the mental illnesses of their parents. The children also gauged how able they were to preserve themselves and how much they were prepared to remain invested in their parent/child relationships. "Fitting in" was the social structural condition which provided a context for children to consider how they were measuring up in the outside world. The findings suggest that most of these children were comfortable in their homes and wished to be there, that children and parents co-existed in reciprocal relationships and that the children were often managing their circumstances with little information about the mental illnesses or external help. All of the children navigated through the ongoing emotional currents that affected their efforts to find the rhythm and to maintain the frame. These children valued their parents and were able to see their parents beyond the mental illnesses, nevertheless, they experienced painful emotions while managing their circumstances. The findings from this study have important implications for nursing practice, education and research, as well as for policy development, to address the larger issues that affect these children and their families. Applied Science, Faculty of Nursing, School of Graduate |
| Databáze: | Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations |
| Externí odkaz: |
|