Grief in Parents of Adults Experiencing Early Psychosis

Abstract

Research has shown that early psychosis, the first five years following the initial onset, is a critical period when treatment is most needed for patients. Because the onset of early psychosis usually occurs in late adolescence/early adulthood, parents are often the most likely family members to be involved in their child’s treatment. Existing research on parents of adults experiencing schizophrenia has shown that parents experience a loss of future hopes for their child as well as a loss of their previous relationship with their child. Ambiguous loss theory provides a relational lens through which to understand grief in unclear and complex circumstances. Given the salient and influential parent-child relationship, the use of an ambiguous loss lens to understand grief in parents of individuals with early psychosis could lead to a more systemic understanding of the relational nature of the grief that parents experience. It could thereby more effectively inform interventions for parents. In this dissertation, I conducted both a quantitative and qualitative study to explore the application of ambiguous loss theory to the experiences of parents of adults with early psychosis. The results of the survey showed that parental grief was strongly associated with the experience of boundary ambiguity, whereby parents struggled to understand their child’s role and their own role in their family. From conducting in-depth interviews, I found that parents experienced considerable uncertainty about their relationship with their child, and how to respond to the changes in their child, given the onset of psychosis. The results from both studies show that ambiguous loss theory provides an important lens through which to understand the complex and unpredictable experiences of parents of adults with early psychosis.