Family Functioning, Coping, and Distress in Families With Serious Mental Illness

It is well documented that mental illness impacts not only the person diagnosed but also the family; however, not much is known about family functioning, coping, and distress in the family of the person with the mental illness. Utilizing online surveys of members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the following study explored these factors in families with at least one person diagnosed with a mental illness, in order to get a closer look at how counselors and family therapists might assist these families’ unique needs. Family variables such as coping style, family functioning, and distress were tested. Other factors such as race/ethnicity, type and severity of mental illness, time and energy spent caregiving, emotional closeness, and amount of and satisfaction with mental health treatment were examined. Relationships among coping, stress and functioning were found, and meditational models were explored. A key finding was the importance of passive appraisal coping to positive family communication, functioning, and satisfaction. Families with higher levels of distress were less likely to report better family functioning, communication, or satisfaction. Mental health treatment satisfaction was related to higher levels of family support and reframing coping and lower levels of overall distress, which were then linked to more balanced family flexibility and higher family satisfaction.