Support networks and social support for persons with psychiatric disabilities—a Swedish mixed-methods study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the structure, interaction, and function of the support networks of women and men with psychiatric disabilities. The study took a mixed-methods approach, using quantitative (n=181) and qualitative (n=42) data from a region in southern Sweden. The quantitative results showed that the respondents received widespread support of different types and from many different sources. However, the qualitative interviews revealed that many of the interviewees did not perceive the received support as supportive. The respondents’ internal resources influenced both their ability to receive support and their perception of the support. The informal and formal support sources formed the external resources of the respondents. Our interviewees often experienced formal support as conditional support, while informal support from the family was experienced as unconditional. There was thus a gap between the structure and function of the social support. This article contributes important knowledge from the perspective of persons with psychiatric disabilities.

Föreliggande studie syftar till att undersöka stödnätverkets struktur, interaktion och funktion för kvinnor och män med psykiskt funktionshinder. Studien har en kombinerad metodansats och använder både kvantitativa (n=181) och kvalitativa (n=42) data från Sjuhärdsregionen i södra Sverige. De kvantitativa resultaten visar att respondenterna erhåller ett omfattande stöd av olika slag och från olika stödkällor. Emellertid visar de kvalitativa intervjuerna att de intervjuade inte upplever mottaget stöd som stödjande. Respondenternas egna, interna, resurser påverkade såväl deras förmåga att ta emot stöd som deras upplevelse av stödet. De informella och formella stödkällorna utgör respondenternas externa resurser. De intervjuade upplevde ofta det formella stödet som villkorat, medan det informella upplevdes som ovillkorat. Studiens resultat pekar på ett glapp mellan stödnätverkets struktur och det sociala stödets funktion för personer med psykiskt funktionshinder. Artikeln bidrar med viktig kunskap ur personer med psykiskt funktionshinders eget perspektiv.

Keywords:

• Social Support
• Disability
• Mental Health

Huvudord:

• Psykiskt Funktionshinder
• Stödnätverk
• Socialt Stöd
• Kvantitativ och Kvalitativ Metod
• Sverige

Acknowledgements

The authors are particularly grateful to the respondents for sharing their experiences with us. This work was supported by grants from the Vårdal Institute, the Swedish Institute for Health Sciences, the Department of Social Work at Göteborg University, and the Institute of Health and Care Sciences at Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University. All authors participated in all steps of the study and divided the writing of the paper equally between them.