Stigma by association and family burden among family members of people with mental illness: the mediating role of coping.

PURPOSE: When someone has a mental illness, family members may share the experience of stigma. Past research has established that family members' experiences of stigma by association predict psychological distress and lower quality-of-life. METHODS: The present study, conducted with 503 family members of people with mental illness examined the prevalence of 14 different coping strategies. Of greater importance, we examined the role of these coping strategies as mediators of the relationships between stigma by association and family burden, on the one hand, and outcomes, such as psychological distress and quality-of-life, on the other. RESULTS: The results showed that both perceived stigma by association and family burden are associated with greater psychological distress and lower quality-of-life, and that most coping strategies mediate these relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Adaptive coping strategies were related to reduced negative outcomes, while most maladaptive coping strategies were related to enhanced negative outcomes. Implications for intervention development are discussed.

Coping with stigma by association and family burden among family members of people with mental illness.

In this study, we explored stigma by association, family burden, and their impact on the family members of people with mental illness. We also studied the ways in which family members coped with these phenomena. We conducted semistructured interviews with 23 immediate family members of people with mental illness. Participants reported various experiences of stigma by association and family burden. Social exclusion, being blamed, not being taken seriously, time-consuming caregiving activities, and exhaustion appeared to be the predominant forms of stigma by association and family burden experienced by the participants. The participants used problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies, separately or simultaneously, to cope with the negative impact of stigma by association and family burden. The results suggest that family members should have access to services to address these problems. Social, instrumental, and emotional support should be given to family members by community members and mental health professionals.

Experiences of stigma by association among family members of people with mental illness.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationships between public stigma, stigma by association (SBA), psychological distress, perceived closeness, perceived heredity, and the type of family relationship among family members of people with a mental illness. METHOD: In this cross-sectional survey, data from 527 family members of people with a mental illness were analyzed. RESULTS: Perceptions of public stigma were found to be positively related to SBA and SBA correlated with greater psychological distress and less perceived closeness. SBA also mediated relationships between perceived public stigma and psychological distress, and between perceived public stigma and perceived closeness. Further, among participants who reported SBA, immediate family members showed lower levels of perceived closeness than extended family members. Also, the perceived heredity of mental illness was associated with perceptions of public stigma and psychological distress. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that family members of people with a mental illness could benefit from education on mental illnesses, their treatment, and the extent to which they are hereditary. Additionally, particular attention should be paid to the psychological needs that arise from being a caregiver of someone with a mental illness.