Title: Stories of loss and change: six mothers’ experiences of parenting and adult child with a mental illness
Room 200, Graduate Student Center
Supervisor: Dr. Judith Daniluk (CNPS)
Supervisory Committee: Dr. Carol Leggo (LLED) & Dr. Sandra Mathison (MERM)
University Examiners: Dr. David Kuhl (Family Practice) & Dr. Richard Young (CNPS)
External Examiner: Dr. Carol McDonald (University of Victoria)
ABSTRACT:
A qualitative, narrative research method was used to explore and describe the experiences of personal growth and change of six mothers of adult children with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. A total of twenty-eight semi-structured interviews (average four per participant), were conducted over a period of two years with these volunteer participants. The research question was: How do parents of adult children with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder experience personal growth and change as they live with the challenges and uncertainties associated with their child’s mental illness?
Individual, co-constructed first person narratives of each participant’s mothering experiences were written following an in-depth, holistic-content analysis of their interview data. A cross-narrative analysis was also conducted which resulted in four common themes, four significant threads, and four broader dimensions. The four common themes were: Enduring sadness and loss, Distress and struggle, Commitment to helping/action, and Personal and relational change. The four significant threads were: What will happen when I am no longer able to care for my child? Impact on siblings who are well, Fluctuations in hope, and Regret/Guilt. These common themes and significant threads informed the four broader dimensions entitled: New normal mothering, Changes in mothering over time, Involvement in the mental health system, and Adaptation and engagement with life in new and meaningful ways. These findings were determined to be best understood through the conceptual lens of nonfinite loss – reflecting the ongoing challenges of this mothering experience over the life course. Implications for theory, research, and counselling psychology practice are addressed based on these findings.