Sense-making, Socialization, and Stigma: Exploring Narratives Told in Families About Mental Illness

ABSTRACT

Guided by Communicated Narrative Sense-making Theory (CNSM), the current study investigated mental illness (MI) narratives told within families and the lessons younger members learned from these stories. Individual, semi-structured interviews with young adults (N = 24) revealed that family members, mainly parents, share stories about the MIs of individual family members and narratives reflected themes of struggle and caution. Participants reported learning important lessons from these MI narratives (i.e., MI awareness, importance of understanding MI). Findings illuminate the ways family narratives about MI teach younger members lessons and expectations for managing MI despite sometimes reinforcing MI stigma. Limitations, future directions, and implications for narrative interventions are also discussed.

Notes

¹ Participants were from Nebraska (n = 12), Illinois (n = 7), Colorado (n = 1), Massachusetts (n = 1).

² Participants’ MI diagnoses included Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)/Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Mood disorders (e.g., Bipolar Depression (BPD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)), and Anxiety.

³ Two of the 11 participants no longer identified as having the MIs with which they had been previously diagnosed (OCD, n = 1; ADD/ADHD, n = 1) whereas nine participants maintained their diagnoses (Anxiety, n = 5; ADD/ADHD, n = 1; MDD, n = 5; BPD, n = 2).

⁴ Notations reflect the participant number and the line numbers in the interview transcription.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Flood-Grady

Elizabeth Flood-Grady (Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln) is a Postdoctoral Associate in the STEM Translational Communication Center, College of Journalism and Communications and the Clinical Translational Science Institute at the University of Florida.

Jody Koenig Kellas

Jody Koenig Kellas (Ph.D., University of Washington) is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This study was conducted as part of the first author’s dissertation, completed under the direction of the second author.