Help-seeking for parents of individuals experiencing a first episode of schizophrenia

The purpose of this triangulated study was to understand parents' experienc e of help-seeking in response to their child's first episode of schizophren ia. Twenty participants completed questionnaires related to stigma, parenta l caregiver burden, uncertainty in illness and help-seeking. Findings indic ated: (1) as stigmatized attitudes towards mental illness and feelings of a mbiguity increased, so did burden; (2) as parental education increased, unc ertainty regarding their child's illness decreased; (3) as the number of sy mptoms causing distress increased so did burden and lack of clarity regardi ng their child's illness. A significant amount of time passed before parent s were able to access help. No relationships were found between indicators of parental help-seeking and the study variables. A subset of five particip ants described their help-seeking experience. Three overarching themes emer ged: (1) Evolving change: What does it mean? (2) Continuous help-seeking, a nd (3) The help-seeking experience: Impact on parents. Copyright (C) 2001 b y W.B. Saunders Company.