Seen but not heard: Subjective perspectives on caregiving in schizophrenia(2004-2008)
Principal Investigator: Charmaine Williams, University of Toronto
Collaborators: Schizophrenia Society of Ontario, Across Boundaries: An Ethnoracial Mental health Centre, Hong Fook Mental Health Centre
Funded by: SSHRC Standard Grant
This project was developed because despite the large volume of research on caregiving in the context of mental illness there was no research that had been done to seek the perspectives of people diagnosed with mental illness. A sample of 40 individuals representing variation in gender, ethnicity and length of illness history was sought for in-depth interviews. Completion of this project was delayed due to career disruptions, however, it has already produced a peer-reviewed publication in an international interdisciplinary journal (Psychiatry-Interpersonal and Biological Processes). A significant and compelling finding has been the discovery of various manifestations of "care-receiving stress"; tensions arising from attempting to achieve a balance between independence and dependence following a diagnosis of schizophrenia.