Gender Differences in the Attitudes of Parents Living with Adult Children with Schizophrenia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Research Subjects
2.2. Data Collection
2.3. Data Analysis
2.4. Study Rigor
2.5. Ethical Considerations
3. Results
3.1. Demographic Information of Research Subjects
3.2. Seven Main Themes
3.2.1. Theme One: Parents Do Recognize the Need of Re-Examining the Roles and Wishes Which Their Children Are Unlikely to Be Able to Fulfill
Experiences of Shame and Learn to Accept
“It’s nothing to speak out, and we try our best not to bring it up…Some people, you know, would warn others against getting too close to us…they make sure to avoid contact with us in fear of being affected”.(Subject J, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
“There lives a nutcase, a sick man,” people would say. We on our part are afraid of telling people that he is mentally ill. But it doesn’t really matter, as long as he gets better, right? He is not a thief or robber. He is just mentally ill…”(Subject I, a father taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
Forced to Give Up Expectations
“You just have the feeling that she is…there is no hope left for her! There is nothing you can expect from her, nothing…”(Subject D, a mother taking care of a daughter with schizophrenia)
“With this illness, I wouldn’t dare to find him a wife. His child will be unhealthy like him. That’s a terrible thing to everyone, almost a sin. It’s not right.”(Subject G, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
Fail to Be Independent by Their Own
“I’ve kept trying to help her to learn a practical skill so she can…you know…but the doctor says that we should focus on keeping her stable without deterioration.”(Subject A, a father taking care of a daughter with schizophrenia)
3.2.2. Theme Two: Hospitalization Gives Parents a Break after Long-Term Mental and Physical Burnout
Parents Feel Emotionally and Physically Worn Out
“We couldn’t help but take him there (hospital). What else we can do to get a little peace of mind! The stress, it keeps piling up. Day after day. We all get angry so often because of him…”(Subject I, a father taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
Helpless in Front of the Illness
“The map of your fate is carved on the bones; you can never erase it, not even with a knife. We gave birth to him, and at that moment, the heavenly god painted his map of fate…His having this illness must have something to do with god’s will or karma, and that’s something you simply have to accept…”(Subject C, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
Desperate to Free Themselves from the Endless Worry and Exhaustion
“When he lets himself go with those explosive tantrums, I hate him so much that I want to strangle him to death. I have told him more than once, ‘I don’t know when, but the time will come. Then it’s you or I, one of us has to die!’ It’s so unbearable seeing him like that. You know what I mean? Strangle him to death like this.” (in Taiwanese)(Subject F, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
Hospitalization as a Temporary Relieving of Stress
“I don’t mind spending some money taking her to the hospital. There are people taking good care of her, and that makes me feel more relieved. There she takes her medicine on time. At home, she makes no effort to take medicine, and she gets worse.”(Subject D, a mother taking care of a daughter with schizophrenia)
3.2.3. Theme Three: Parents Consider Taking the Best Care of Their Children with Schizophrenia as Their Lifelong Responsibility
Dedicate Themselves to Taking Care of Children
“You feel sorry for him even when he is quite okay, having no condition. Regardless of who he is and how people feel about him, I am his mother. I never hate him so that I stop taking care of him. You know what? Being a mother, I am always the one taking care of his needs, before others notice him…He does have brothers and sisters, but they all have their own families to keep them busy. It is always and only me when he needs anything.”(Subject F, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
Prevent Ill Children from Becoming a Burden to Siblings
“She is now thirty. It would be great if she were able to marry someone who is willing to take care of her, but I know well that marrying her is bringing burdens to one’s family. After all, men, I mean most men, would not consider marrying a girl with an illness like her. So, it’s better to encourage her to be able to live by herself without depending on others…. I spend more time with her than others in my family. After all, her elder brother needs to work. So, I keep her company as best as I can…She doesn’t really have friends, and there is nothing much to talk about with her elder sister…Her elder sister is married and has her own family to take care of. We try our best to take good care of her; we’d be happy as long as she doesn’t catch a cold or become seriously ill. We also find time to take care of ourselves…It’s important to keep ourselves healthy as we are getting older.”(Subject A, a father taking care of a daughter with schizophrenia)
“His elder brother fears of his wife so much…His wife would rather die than taking care my (ill) son. That’s just fine with me! His elder brother is a good person though, his wife is the problem, always nagging at her husband about this and that, lecturing and mocking him as if he is a child. I don’t need them to help me in taking care of my (ill) son.” (in Taiwanese)(Subject E, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
3.2.4. Theme Four: Parents Strive to Find Support That Brings Them Hope among Desperation
Seek Hopes in Folk Medicine to Ease Helplessness
“We pray to gods…spent quite a fortune …holding one rite after another…each costs over one hundred thousand dollars…We burned a lot of spirit paper money…Some of them, I know, are nothing but superstitions, but when you are in my situation, you do what people tell you to.”(Subject B, a father taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
Trust Modern Medical Treatment
“Her grandma keeps urging me, ‘Marry her to someone. That fixes everything.’ How is that possible? How could marriage help cure her illness?... People say that it’s called (pause)…“expelling bad luck with jubilance.” Wedding brings jubilance, and jubilance drives illness away. That’s just an old convention tale! Pure nonsense… For her illness, we go to doctors and take medicine. That’s what helps her control her illness, makes her stable. And once she is stable, she becomes a normal person.”(Subject A, a father taking care of a daughter with schizophrenia)
Seek Supports to Keep Taking Care of Children
“This son of mine, he never ceases to cause me headache. Wherever I go, I can do worship and pray to gods. It’s all because of Buddha’s mercy that I am still here to take good care of my son. If I were not here, he would have died long time ago…Indeed, thanks to Buddha, I am able to save my son.”(Subject H, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
3.2.5. Theme Five: Dictated by Traditional Chinese Cultural Values, Parents Continue to Expect Their Sons with Schizophrenia to Carry on the Family Name
Carrying on the Family Name
“No matter what, we as parent still look forward to seeing our son reaching this crucial stage in life: marrying a wife and having their own children…It’s quite alright that he doesn’t get married. He has an elder brother, who can be married and having a son to avoid the family blood from broken. My grandson is now 23 or 24 years old. Mature for marriage. He is getting married soon!”(Subject E, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
Relief of Having Grandsons
“I don’t mind that he stays and dies in the hospital. We’ll take care of the cremation, burial, funeral and whatever is necessary after his death. His son has grown up now. We are lucky to have a grandson. Some don’t even have a chance to get married, and many of them do not get married nowadays”(Subject H, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
3.2.6. Theme Six: Society as a Whole Expects Males to Be the “Head of the Family”
Adjust Their Expectations of Their Ill Sons
“I wouldn’t complain about being alone if he and his brother were doing well, but he’s like this now, nothing much we can expect from him. My greatest hope now is that he can learn to think straight, both for himself and for others. That’s it. I don’t expect him to make a fortune. Just be an ordinary person living an ordinary life. No need to be a great man. Be content with being ordinary. That’s one way to be happy, day in and day out. It’s a blessing, being able to be ordinary.”(Subject F, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
Work–Family Balance
“The hospital warns us not to leave him alone since he has the illness, but I just can’t be there for him anytime. My son supports to work for family, but he sick. So, I need to work for the family; without my job, there will be no income. I have to go to work, and then I’ll be worrying about him all the time at work.”(Subject J, a mother taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
3.2.7. Theme Seven: In Traditional Chinese Family Ethics, Male Family Members Are Supposed to Assume the Responsibility of Caring for Sick Siblings
Healthy Sons to Take Care of the Ill Sibling
“I’ve lucky to have son. I don’t care, I mean how could I? About what will happen. I’m getting old and then I die. It’s a good thing that you see and know nothing after you die. After I’m gone, his younger brother, a normal person, is supposed to take care of him. If that does not happen, the government will look after him…”(Subject B, a father taking care of a son with schizophrenia)
The Responsibility of Taking Care of Ill Children for Life
“If something terrible happened to her, we would handle her funeral. If we die before she does, then it’s up to her, but she no longer has her elder brother. There is only her elder sister left to deal with her (suggesting that the elder brother would have had to be the primary caregiver of his younger sister if he had not died)(Subject D, a mother taking care of a daughter with schizophrenia)
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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No. | Suggested Topic/Question |
---|---|
1 | Would you like to talk about the process of your child’s development of the illness? |
2 | What are the impacts of your child’s illness on your family? How do you cope with those impacts? |
3 | How would you describe your daily life living conditions? Are there any additional impacts? |
4 | What concerned/worried you the most after your child became ill? |
5 | What are your plans to face an illness that needs long-term care? |
6 | Does your child’s illness change your expectation(s) of him or her? |
7 | What were your expectations before his/her illness? How about after the illness? |
8 | Before the illness, was your child able to fulfill his or her responsibilities and roles at school, at work, and/or in family. This, however, became something he or she is unable to accomplish or to do well. How do you feel about this change? |
Cases | Parent as Primary Caregiver | Adult Child with Schizophrenia | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Code | Role | Age | Education | Job | Role | Age | Education | Marital Status | History of Schizophrenia by Year |
A | Father | 60 | High School | Retired | Daughter | 29 | Junior High | Single | 15 |
B | Father | 65 | Primary | Retired | Son | 40 | Junior High | Single | 20 |
C | Mother | 53 | Vocational School | Hairdresser | Son | 25 | High School | Single | 7 |
D | Mother | 60 | Junior High | Homemaker | Daughter | 39 | Junior High | Divorced | 15 |
E | Mother | 79 | Illiterate | Homemaker | Son | 48 | Junior College | Single | 25 |
F | Mother | 66 | Junior High | Farmer | Son | 46 | Vocational School | Divorced | 15 |
G | Mother | 73 | Junior High | Homemaker | Son | 51 | Junior High | Single | 25 |
H | Mother | 90 | Illiterate | Homemaker | Son | 54 | Junior High | Divorced | 25 |
I | Father | 54 | Junior High | Laborer | Son | 30 | College | Single | 3 |
J | Mother | 62 | Junior High | Temp Worker | Son | 39 | Primary | Divorced | 20 |
Main Theme | Sub-Theme |
---|---|
1. Parents do recognize the need to re-examine the roles and wishes their children are unlikely to be able to fulfill | (1) Experience shame and learn to accept |
(2) Forced to give up expectations | |
(3) Fail to be independent on their own | |
2. Hospitalization gives parents a break after long-term mental and physical burnout | (1) Parents feel emotionally and physically worn out |
(2) Helpless in the face of the illness | |
(3) Desperate to free themselves from the endless worry and exhaustion | |
(4) Hospitalization as a temporary exit out of stress | |
3. Parents consider taking the best care of their children with schizophrenia as their lifelong responsibility | (1) Dedicate themselves to taking care of children |
(2) Prevent sons from becoming a burden to siblings | |
4. Parents strive to find support that brings hope among desperation | (1) Seek hope in folk medicine to ease helplessness |
(2) Trust modern medical treatment | |
(3) Seek support to keep taking care of children | |
5. Dictated by traditional Chinese cultural values, parents continue to expect their ill sons to carry on the family names | (1) Carrying on the family name |
(2) Relief from having grandson | |
6. Society as a whole expects males to be the “head of the family” | (1) Adjust expectations of ill sons |
(2) Work–family balance | |
7. In traditional Chinese family ethics, male family members are supposed to assume the responsibility of caring for sick siblings | (1) Healthy sons to take care of the ill sibling |
(2) The responsibility of taking care of ill children for life |
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Yeh, T.-P.; Lin, Y.-W.; Liu, H.-Y.; Yang, T.-C.; Yen, W.-J.; Ma, W.-F. Gender Differences in the Attitudes of Parents Living with Adult Children with Schizophrenia. Healthcare 2021, 9, 836. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9070836
Yeh T-P, Lin Y-W, Liu H-Y, Yang T-C, Yen W-J, Ma W-F. Gender Differences in the Attitudes of Parents Living with Adult Children with Schizophrenia. Healthcare. 2021; 9(7):836. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9070836
Chicago/Turabian StyleYeh, Tzu-Pei, Ying-Wen Lin, Hsing-Yu Liu, Tzu-Ching Yang, Wen-Jiuan Yen, and Wei-Fen Ma. 2021. "Gender Differences in the Attitudes of Parents Living with Adult Children with Schizophrenia" Healthcare 9, no. 7: 836. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9070836