1Amity Insitute of Behavioural & Allied Science, Amity University, Lucknow, malhotra.meeta@gmail.com
2Department of Psychology, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, komillathapa@yahoo.co.in, komithapa@gmail.com
Online published on 27 September, 2013.
Family care is an emerging area of research. The purpose of the current study was to present insights in how caregiving is experienced by family members; and the psychosocial problems experienced by the family caregivers of the mentally ill. Qualitative descriptive method was used. 75 caregivers belonging both to urban and rural areas were interviewed. The age of the participants ranged frpm 18–75 years and the mean age was 44.44 years. In-depth interviews were done and qualitative inquiry was used to enable the caregiver to narrate his/her story. Data was qualitatively analyzed and several themes were identified. It was found that caregivers are caught between demands of caring and looking after families. Moreover different groups of caregivers i.e. parents and spouse experience different sets of problems. Knowledge generated by this research can be helpful in the creation of family services tailored to such families. The present study which views family care through, lived experience of caregivers is significant not only because of the contemporary relevance of family caregivers, but also because it focuses on mental illness, which is a little understood condition because of its stigmatizing and long drawn nature.
caregiving, mental illness, burden
