Stress and coping among mother caregivers of mentally ill adult children

The purpose of this research was to learn about the caregiving experiences of mothers who were caregivers to their mentally ill adult children. All subjects in the sample (N=56) completed a structured interview. In addition, a sub-sample of ten (10) mothers (five white and five black) volunteered to answer a series of open-ended questions about their experiences as caregivers.

These mother caregivers rated the perceived amount of stress associated with selected stress items on a 3 point Likert-type scale. Response choices were "no stress," rated 1, "moderate stress," rated 2 and "severe stress," rated 3.

Coping strategy items were also rated by these mother caregivers on a 3 point Likert-type scale. Response choices were "never," rated 1, "sometimes," rated 2, and "often" rated 3. Resource utilization was rated on a 4 point Likert-type scale. Response choices were "no help," rated 0, "of little help," rated 1, "somewhat helpful," rated 2 and "very helpful," rated 3. T-tests were used to determine if a statistically significant difference existed between black and white mother caregivers' mean stress scores, mean coping strategy scores, and mean resource utilization scores. The t-test findings indicated that little difference existed between sources of stress, coping strategy use, and resource utilization among black and white mother caregivers.

Results from the analyses of the mother caregivers' responses to the series of open-ended questions indicated that black and white mother caregivers' descriptions of themselves, their mentally ill adult children, and families were similar. The presence of a mentally ill adult family member impacted the mother caregiver's life and her family.

Mother caregivers faced major challenges in the role of caregiver. Challenges ranged from getting through the day to getting the mentally ill adult child to keep doctor's appointments.

The needs of mentally ill adult children are many. However, these mother caregivers identified some additional resources that were lacking or in limited supply.

These mother caregivers felt more affordable living situations and educational training opportunities were needed for the mentally ill. The mothers themselves needed education on new medications and treatments for the mentally ill.

It is recommended that this study be replicated with a larger sample to determine the generalizability of the findings to a larger population.