The meaning of social support for persons with serious mental illness.
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: This study sought to better understand the population-specific types of social support relevant to adults living with serious mental illness (SMI). Our study was exploratory and used a qualitative approach that centered on uncovering the types of social support meaningful and relevant to persons with SMI. METHOD: The sample comprised of 52 adults receiving county mental health services in the San Francisco Bay Area. Data was gathered from 6 focus groups and analyzed using NVivo10 and Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill et al., 2005; Hill et al., 1997). RESULTS: Six qualitative domains were identified: (a) supportive conditions, (b) day-to-day living, (c) illness management, (d) resources and information, (e) guidance and advice, and (f) community participation support. DISCUSSION: While the 6 support domains share some broad-based conceptual underpinnings with traditional models of emotional and instrumental support, the domains emerging from our study represent supports uniquely tied to the stressors associated with living with SMI, and therefore hold conceptual distinction from traditional types of support. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Findings from this study offer a conceptual framework for understanding social support for persons living with SMI and lay the groundwork for the development of a SMI-specific measure of social support. In addition, our research permits future researchers to investigate the conditions under which social support buffers the impact of SMI stressors, assisting service providers in more effective identification of individual support needs for clinical intervention.
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Individuals with serious mental illnesses who may be uncomfortable with or avoidant of conventional social contact may perceive digital interactions as less threatening.
“In addition, as discussed previously, individuals with serious mental illnesses who may be uncomfortable with or avoidant of conventional social contact may perceive digital interactions as less threatening [144].”
From The therapeutic alliance in digital mental health interventions for serious mental illnesses: narrative review (2020) · cites this paper as [144]
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References 40 · Cited by 57
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- Authors
- Chronister, J., Chou, C.-C., Kwan, K.-L. K., Lawton, M., & Silver, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Arizona (US)
- ORCID
- Chronister, Julie
- Venue
- Rehabilitation Psychology
- Published
- 2015-08
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 232-245
- ISSN
- 0090-5550 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1544
- PMC
- PMC4564308
- OpenAlex
- W1806210563
- Cited by
- 57
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 7.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Rehabilitation Psychology (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R15MH095011)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mental Health and Patient Involvement
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family Caregiving in Mental Illness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
- Keywords
- social support, severe mental illness, community mental health services, illness management, community participation, support needs assessment
- MeSH terms
- Mental Disorders, Community Participation, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, San Francisco, Severity of Illness Index, Social Support, Focus Groups
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