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Race-Related Differences in the Experiences of Family Members of Persons with Mental Illness Participating in the NAMI Family to Family Education Program

  • Original Article
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American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

Families play an important role in the lives of individuals with mental illness. Coping with the strain of shifting roles and multiple challenges of caregiving can have a huge impact. Limited information exists regarding race-related differences in families’ caregiving experiences, their abilities to cope with the mental illness of a loved one, or their interactions with mental health service systems. This study examined race-related differences in the experiences of adults seeking to participate in the National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family Education Program due to mental illness of a loved one. Participants were 293 White and 107 African American family members who completed measures of problem- and emotion-focused coping, knowledge about mental illness, subjective illness burden, psychological distress, and family functioning. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine race-related differences. African American caregivers reported higher levels of negative caregiving experiences, less knowledge of mental illness, and higher levels of both problem-solving coping and emotion-focused coping, than White caregivers. Mental health programs serving African American families should consider targeting specific strategies to address caregiving challenges, support their use of existing coping mechanisms and support networks, and increase their knowledge of mental illness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland School of Social Work, 525 W. Redwood St., Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Melissa Edmondson Smith

  2. New York University Silver School of Social Work, New York, NY, USA

    Michael A. Lindsey & Crystal D. Williams

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Deborah R. Medoff, Alicia Lucksted & Li Juan Fang

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Jason Schiffman

  5. Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Roberto Lewis-Fernández & Lisa B. Dixon

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  1. Melissa Edmondson Smith
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  2. Michael A. Lindsey
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  3. Crystal D. Williams
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  4. Deborah R. Medoff
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  5. Alicia Lucksted
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  6. Li Juan Fang
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  7. Jason Schiffman
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  8. Roberto Lewis-Fernández
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  9. Lisa B. Dixon
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Correspondence to Melissa Edmondson Smith.

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Smith, M.E., Lindsey, M.A., Williams, C.D. et al. Race-Related Differences in the Experiences of Family Members of Persons with Mental Illness Participating in the NAMI Family to Family Education Program. Am J Community Psychol 54, 316–327 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-014-9674-y

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