The role and impact of social relationships upon well-being reported by mental health service users: A qualitative study

Green, Gill; Hayes, Catherine; Dickinson, David; Whittaker, Andrew; Gilheany, Barry

doi:10.1080/09638230020023912

Cited by 36 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…People living with schizophrenia, for example, are more likely to rely on a small and dense network of family members to provide support and are less likely to engage in a mutually reliant relationship (Beels, 1978;Green, Hayes, Dickinson, Whittaker, & Gilheany, 2002). This suggests greater passivity in social and family relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The structure and quality of social network support among mental health consumers of clubhouse programs

Pernice-Duca

2008

Journal Community Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study explored the structure and quality of social network support among a group of adult consumers of community-based mental health programs known as clubhouses. The structure and quality of social network support was also examined by diagnosis, specifically between consumers living with and without schizophrenia. The study involved a sample of 221 consumers across 15 clubhouse programs. Social network nominations were collected using a semistructured social network interview strategy. Over 97% of the participants identified at least one source of support in their social network with an average of five nominations. Family members were identified as the most common source of support whereas fellow clubhouse members were least likely to be nominated. Clubhouse members with schizophrenia were less likely to identify family members and were more likely to rate their support networks as more important and engage in greater levels of contact than consumers with other diagnoses. The structure and quality of social network supports were not associated with level of social functioning, length of clubhouse membership or level of participation or other selected demographic variables typically associated with the size and quality of support. C

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The structure and quality of social network support among mental health consumers of clubhouse programs

Pernice-Duca

2008

Journal Community Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Those with smaller networks may value any tie even where conflict or negativity exists. 96 Moreover, the existence of some negative ties is not in itself a problem if people can manage them.…”

Section: Data Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…95 We also noted that the quality of social relationships rather than the number of ties may provide a better indicator of well-being; not all social ties are positive and supportive. 96 Having social support available, especially in the early years of mental illness, can reduce an individual's perception of stigmatisation or rejection due to their mental illness 97 and can improve access to services. 98 However, individuals with severe and enduring mental illness tended to have limited availability of this resource.…”

Section: The Recovery Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving community health networks for people with severe mental illness: a case study investigation

Pinfold

Sweet

Porter³

et al. 2015

Health Services and Delivery Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionPolicy drivers in mental health to address personal recovery, stigma and poor physical health indicate that new service solutions are required. This study aimed to understand how connections to people, places and activities were utilised by individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) to benefit health and wellbeing.MethodsA five-module mixed-methods design was undertaken in two study sites. Data were collected from 150 network-mapping interviews and 41 in-depth follow-up interviews with people with SMI; in-depth interviews with 30 organisation stakeholders and 12 organisation leaders; and 44 telephone interviews with practitioners. We undertook a three-stage synthesis process including independent lived experience feedback, and a patient and public involvement team participated in tool design, data collection, analysis and write-up.ResultsThree personal network types were found in our study using the community health network approach: diverse and active; family and stable; formal and sparse. Controlled for other factors we found only four variables significantly associated with which network type a participant had: living alone or not; housing status; formal education; long-term sickness or disability. Diagnosis was not a factor. These variables are challenging to address but they do point to potential for network change. The qualitative interviews with people with SMI provided further understanding of connection-building and resource utilisation. We explored individual agency across each network type, and identified recognition of the importance and value of social support and active connection management alongside the risks of isolation, even for those most affected by mental illness. We identified tensions in personal networks, be that relationships with practitioners or families, dealing with the impact of stigma, or frustrations of not being in employment, which all impact on network resources and well-being. The value of connectedness within personal networks of people, place and activity for supporting recovery was evident in shaping identity, providing meaning to life and sense of belonging, gaining access to new resources, structuring routines and helping individuals ‘move on’ in their recovery journey.Health-care practitioners recognised that social factors were important in recovery but reported system-level barriers (workload, administrative bureaucracy, limited contact time with clients) in addressing these issues fully. Even practitioners working in third-sector services whose remit involved increasing clients’ social connection faced restrictions due to being evaluated by outcome criteria that limited holistic recovery-focused practices. Service providers were keen to promote recovery-focused approaches. We found contrasts between recovery ideology within mental health policy and recovery practice on the ground. In particular, the social aspects of supporting people with SMI are often underprioritised in the health-care system. In a demanding and changing context, strategic multiagency working was seen as crucial but we found few examples of embedded multisector organisation partnerships.ConclusionWhile our exploratory study has limitations, findings suggest potential for people with SMI to be supported to become more active managers of their personal networks to support well-being regardless of current network type. The health and social care system does not currently deliver multiagency integrated solutions to support SMI and social recovery.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.

show abstract

“…People with diagnoses of severe mental illness typically have only a few people within their social networks on whom they can call for help in times of crisis, and most of these are family members (Green, Hayes, Dickinson, Whittaker, & Gilheany, 2002;Macdonald, Hayes, & Baglioni, 2000). Unfortunately, adult siblings, while usually compassionate and caring toward their mentally ill brother or sister, are typically unable to assume the level of care or care oversight typically provided by a parent (Horwitz, 1993).…”

Section: Loneliness and Isolationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental Death in the Lives of People With Serious Mental Illness

Jones

Harvey

Giza

et al. 2003

Journal of Loss and Trauma

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nearly a fourth (22%) of the participants within a research sample of 148 individuals with serious mental illness reported the death of a loved one as a significant loss, and two thirds of these deaths involved the loss of one or both parents. The key determinant of the severity and duration of grief in response to the death of a parent was whether or not there were extenuating circumstances that complicated the death event, such as co-residence with the deceased at the time of death or a lack of regular social contact with anyone other than the deceased. In all instances of severe or prolonged grief, there was no preparation for the parental death, either through preparatory counseling or practical plans for funeral arrangements, financial repercussions, life-style changes, or residential relocation. Mental health agencies serving people with serious mental illness should begin to incorporate financial and emotional preparation for parental deaths and bereavement counseling as essential services.The population of people with serious disabilities is growing older. As within the general population, a large "baby-boomer" generation of disabled adults is now entering its fifth decade and facing the multiple life complications characteristic of middle age, inclusive of parental death, divorce, children's growth into adolescence, anxiety about financial security, and agerelated health problems. When combined with a severe disability, such normal midlife concerns can become traumatic, and at times tragic. Concurrent and multiple losses make it difficult to cope with everyday problems or to sustain employment and meaningful life activities, and they can contribute to prolonged grief following the death of a loved one (Rando, 1993 The most universal and inevitable loss experience of middle age is the death of a parent. Death of any close other is associated with a variety of physical and mental disorders, including suicidal ideation and depression (Finley-Jones & Brown, 1981;Prigerson et al., 1997Prigerson et al., , 1999. Individuals who must deal with the death of a loved one in combination with pre-existing psychiatric disability are especially vulnerable to severe depression and depression-related physical illnesses (Mazure, Bruce, Maciejewski, & Jacobs, 2000;Surtees & Wainwright, 1999). Results of recent research studies underscore the vulnerability of people with serious mental illness to prolonged, severe grief. While a study of grief within a sample of physically disabled and nondisabled adults reported that only 11% had severe grief lasting 10 months or longer after the death of a loved one (Avison & Turner, 1988), a study of psychiatric outpatients reported that nearly a third experienced intense grief lasting an average of 10 years (Piper, Ogrodniczuk, Azim, & Weideman, 2001).Over and above the emotional experience of severe grief, the loss of a parent or another relative on whom the mentally ill bereaved was financially or functionally dependent may set in motion a cascade of negative events that may ...

show abstract

The role and impact of social relationships upon well-being reported by mental health service users: A qualitative study

Cited by 36 publications

References 40 publications

The structure and quality of social network support among mental health consumers of clubhouse programs

The structure and quality of social network support among mental health consumers of clubhouse programs

Improving community health networks for people with severe mental illness: a case study investigation

Parental Death in the Lives of People With Serious Mental Illness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About