Neighbors as distal support for individuals with serious mental illnesses.

Abstract

Social networks are regarded as an asset to community integration. While family and friends provide important sources of support, familiar strangers like neighbors can facilitate support through anonymous, but meaningful interactions. Among individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI), these interactions can help to compensate for increased social isolation and smaller networks of peers. This study explores whether neighbors can play a unique role in decreasing loneliness and bolstering a sense of community for individuals with SMI. Participants in this study were drawn from 2 samples: (a) 232 individuals with SMI receiving services at outpatient community mental health centers throughout the United States; and (b) 300 adults recruited from the Truven Health Analytics' PULSE survey. Independent-samples t tests were performed to compare neighbor relationships between individuals with and without SMI. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between neighbor relationships, sense of community, and loneliness. As hypothesized, individuals with SMI reported weaker relationships with their neighbors, as well as higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of community connectedness compared to individuals without SMI. For participants in both groups, the quality of neighbor relationships was significantly associated with their loneliness and sense of community regardless of how many neighbors they reported feeling close to. Participants with SMI indicated their sense of community and experiences of loneliness were associated with their relationships with their neighbors, no matter the quantity. Providers might capitalize on the utility of neighbors by expanding social and support networks of clients with SMI. Public Policy Relevance StatementAlthough family and friends provide important sources of support, lesser-known acquaintances, like neighbors, can facilitate support through more anonymous, but still meaningful interactions. This study showed that relationships with neighbors, no matter the quantity, were significantly associated with sense of community and experiences of loneliness for individuals with serious mental illnesses. Therefore, it is important that researchers, service providers, and policymakers support the identification of strategies that help to facilitate connections with neighbors and other community members to promote community integration and inclusion.

The level of formal support received by people with severe mental illness living in supported accommodation and participation: A systematic review

“…The original aim of the review was to compare the impact of informal and formal care on people with SMI living in SA. The role of informal carers is under explored in current literature, even though informal care networks such as family involvement ( Allen et al, 2013 ; Dorer et al, 2009 ; Fossey et al, 2006 ) or supportive neighbourhoods ( Kriegel et al, 2019 ) are indicated as beneficial to people with SMI’s social participation and recovery. The review focuses on level of support and the authors acknowledge there are other factors that can influence participation for people with SMI living in SA including whether people are living in congregate settings or alone, and length of stay in accommodation which needs to be a consideration for future reviews.…”

Exploring urbanicity and its relationship with stigma and well-being outcomes for people with serious mental illnesses.

“…However, these relationships were not sufficient to differentially predict the impact of perceived stigma on psychological distress and sense of community at the nonurban versus urban level. Nevertheless, this research contributes to a growing body of literature on the impact of place on people with SMI (Doroud et al, 2018;Gonzales et al, 2018;Kriegel et al, 2020;Townley et al, 2009).…”

Welcoming places: Perspectives of individuals with mental illnesses.

“…This study is based upon the premise that welcoming places are likely to enhance community participation among individuals with SMI (Power & Bartlett, 2018) and create opportunities to facilitate connections and establish social networks (Kriegel et al, 2020). We believe this contributes to the literature in two fundamental ways.…”

“…Visiting different neighborhoods, particularly those with greater resources, appears to be associated with lower levels of depression (Traoré, Vuillermoz, Chauvin, & Deguen, 2020). Furthermore, social connections, even those that are categorized as “familiar strangers” have the potential to increase one’s sense of community and reduce feelings of loneliness (Kriegel, Townley, Brusilovskiy, & Salzer, 2020). It is our contention that for the community to contribute to health and well-being and to provide opportunity for participation and social connectedness, it must be welcoming to the whole person, that is, welcoming to those with mental illnesses.…”