Lived experiences of couples in a relationship where one partner is diagnosed with a mental illness.
couples
lived experiences
mental illness
partners
relationship
Journal
Curationis
ISSN: 2223-6279
Titre abrégé: Curationis
Pays: South Africa
ID NLM: 7901092
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
19 Sep 2019
19 Sep 2019
Historique:
received:
03
10
2018
accepted:
05
08
2019
revised:
31
07
2019
entrez:
8
10
2019
pubmed:
8
10
2019
medline:
5
5
2020
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
A partner with mental illness can be challenging in a couple's relationship. Mental illness brings about disintegration in the relationship because the partner without mental illness takes on more responsibilities than before. The partner without mental illness can be subjected to multiple risks, including stress and burden of care. The lived experiences of couples in a relationship where one partner is diagnosed with a mental illness is an under-researched area of mental health. To explore and describe the lived experiences of couples in a relationship where one partner is diagnosed with a mental illness. A qualitative, descriptive, exploratory and contextual research design was utilised. A purposive sampling method was used to sample participants for this study. Five couples, where one partner was diagnosed with a mental illness, participated in the study. Ten in-depth, individual, phenomenological interviews were conducted to provide rich descriptions of the couples' experiences. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. An independent coder assisted with the data analysis. A consensus discussion was held between the independent coder and the interviewing researcher to agree on the identified themes. Four themes with categories emerged from the data analysis: couples experienced changed social roles in their relationship, emotional upheaval was experienced by the individual partners in the couple relationship, interpersonal distance was experienced in the couple's relationship and a changed relationship with the self was experienced by the individual partners in the couple relationship. The results concluded that couples experienced that the presence of mental illness in their relationship adversely affects the relationship, thus emphasising the need to empower the couples dealing with challenges of being in a relationship where one partner is diagnosed with a mental illness.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
A partner with mental illness can be challenging in a couple's relationship. Mental illness brings about disintegration in the relationship because the partner without mental illness takes on more responsibilities than before. The partner without mental illness can be subjected to multiple risks, including stress and burden of care. The lived experiences of couples in a relationship where one partner is diagnosed with a mental illness is an under-researched area of mental health.
OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVE
To explore and describe the lived experiences of couples in a relationship where one partner is diagnosed with a mental illness.
METHOD
METHODS
A qualitative, descriptive, exploratory and contextual research design was utilised. A purposive sampling method was used to sample participants for this study. Five couples, where one partner was diagnosed with a mental illness, participated in the study. Ten in-depth, individual, phenomenological interviews were conducted to provide rich descriptions of the couples' experiences. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. An independent coder assisted with the data analysis. A consensus discussion was held between the independent coder and the interviewing researcher to agree on the identified themes.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Four themes with categories emerged from the data analysis: couples experienced changed social roles in their relationship, emotional upheaval was experienced by the individual partners in the couple relationship, interpersonal distance was experienced in the couple's relationship and a changed relationship with the self was experienced by the individual partners in the couple relationship.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
The results concluded that couples experienced that the presence of mental illness in their relationship adversely affects the relationship, thus emphasising the need to empower the couples dealing with challenges of being in a relationship where one partner is diagnosed with a mental illness.
Identifiants
pubmed: 31588763
doi: 10.4102/curationis.v42i1.2015
pmc: PMC6779990
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
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