Subjective Burden and Personal Gains Among Older Parents of Adults With Serious Mental Illness

Objective-While numerous studies have examined the long-term toll of coping with an adult child's serious mental illness, relatively few studies have examined both the subjective burden and personal gains associated with this parenting role.The purpose of this study is to investigate the stressors and resources related to burden and gains among older parents of adults with serious mental illness.Methods-This study involves a secondary analysis of data collected in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.The analysis is based on 111 respondents who were identified as parents of adults with serious mental illness in the study.Regression analysis was used to examine the stressors and resources associated with parental burden and gains.Results-Stressors that were positively associated with subjective burden included the amount of care provided to a child with serious mental illness and parent-child coresidence.Parents who received more assistance from an adult with serious mental illness and those who were support group members reported less subjective burden and more gains.A higher number of confidants was also positively associated with gains.Interestingly, parents who provided more assistance with activities of daily living to their adult child reported higher levels of gains.Conclusions-Findings suggest that recovery-oriented approaches to supporting families in later stages of the life course may involve creating opportunities for adults with serious mental illness to play positive roles in the lives of aging parents and in helping older parents recognize ways in which successfully coping with caregiving challenges may lead to personal gains.