Şizofreni Tanısı Alan Çocuğa Sahip Ailelerin Deneyimleri

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder that causes certain differences in the emotions, thoughts and behaviors of individuals, and it deeply affects both the person diagnosed and his family. It has been reported that family systems change with the diagnosis, and families need social and institutional support in the process of coping with the disease. The main purpose of this study is to shed light on the subjective experiences of parents whose children are diagnosed with schizophrenia. Therefore, semi structıred in-depth interviews were conducted with 8 mothers whose child was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Data were obtained by using the qualitative research method and through semistructured interviews. The data obtained were categorized under four main and seven sub-themes as a result of the thematic analysis. The data revealed themes as: The experiences regarding the pre-diagnosis period (first recognition), experiences about being informed about the diagnosis and acceptance period (collecting information about the illness, feelings and acceptance), experiences regarding the post diagnosis period ( being convinced for the treatment, comparison of experinces with pre-diagnosis period, and sharing the news with social network), and worries about future.

One of the key contribution of the study is that parcipants were found to experience difficulties in several domains. It has been observed that parents who have a child diagnosed with schizophrenia have to deal with the traumatic experience and worry about the future of their child, as well as to struggle with judgmental and stigmatizing attitudes by the social network and the society they live in. The results of the study will provide resource on the lived experiences of children and the families to clinicians and academics in the field and contribute to quality of life of the families with a diagnosed child.