The aim of this study was to identify and explore resilience factors associated with family adaption after a child had been diagnosed with cancer. Using a cross-sectional survey research design, parents (n = 26), and children (n = 25) from the same families independently completed six self-report questionnaires, as well as responded to an open-ended question about those qualities that helped their family through the period following the diagnosis. The most significant results came from the children's data. According to these results, connectedness within the family, the experience of control over life events, family routines, positive, and supportive communication, redefinition of crisis situations, and lastly, a passive appraisal of crisis situations, were positively linked to better family adaptation. The identified factors should be strengthened and developed in families finding themselves in a similar situation.
In South Africa, a substantial burden is placed on families living with people with mental illnesses. The aim of this study was to identify resilience factors in families living in an underprivileged area, caring for people with mental illnesses. Data was obtained from family representatives (N 5 34) using semistructured interviews and a set of seven self-report, quantitative questionnaires during the course of a onceoff interview. The results of the qualitative analysis show that the most commonly cited resilience factors are religion and spirituality, and personal characteristics of individual family members. Both these factors were cited by 67.6% of the participants. The results of the Spearman correlations showed that the factor that displayed the strongest relationship with family adaptation was the quality of communication in the family unit. C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are as many as 450 million people suffering from a mental or behavioral disorder worldwide and that one in four families has at least one member currently suffering from a mental or behavioral disorder. They further state that at any point in time there are more than 150 million people suffering from depression and about 25 million suffering from schizophrenia-and it is expected that the burden of mental illness will rise significantly over the next 20 years (WHO, 2003). There are two measurement components to the burden of disease-the Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) and the Years Lived with Disability (YLD). The DALY is a calculation of the time lived with disability and the time lost because of premature death-each DALY being equivalent to a year of healthy life lost. The YLD is calculated based on incident cases of the disease. Globally, 13% of disability adjusted life years and 33% of years lived with disability are as a result of mental illness (WHO, 2002). Depression, alcohol-use
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