Parents' illness models of schizophrenia

The aim of this study is to describe the lived experience of schizophrenia, as understood by parents who care for adult schizophrenic offspring in the community. Parents' illness models--their personal understandings of the causes, nature, course, and appropriate treatment of schizophrenia--were explored in open-ended interviews with 21 parents from 14 families. Parents described four distinct models of the everyday lived reality of schizophrenia. Parental care patterns were substantially shaped by these illness models. Nurses can support families' efforts to care for the ill member by broadening their focus to the meaning and experience of the illness for schizophrenics and their families.