Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1997 Coping, adjustment, and self-concept among siblings of the chronically mentally ill Marcy Beth Jensen Halvorson Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at:https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of theClinical Psychology Commons,Developmental Psychology Commons,Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons, and thePsychiatry and Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Halvorson, Marcy Beth Jensen, "Coping, adjustment, and self-concept among siblings of the chronically mentally ill " (1997). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 12203. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/12203 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. 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UMI A Bell & Howell Infomiation Company 300 Noith Zeeb Road, Ann Aibor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Coping, adjustment, and self-concept among siblings of the chronically mentally ill by Marcy Beth Jensen Halvorson A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Psychology (Counseling Psychology) Major Professor: Carolyn E. Cutrona Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 1997 TJMI Number: 9737716 UM Microform 9737716 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 i Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the Doctoral dissertation of Marcy Beth Jensen Halvorson has met the doctoral requirements of Iowa State University Signature was redacted for privacy. Major Professor Signature was redacted for privacy. Signature was redacted for privacy. rarthe/Graduate College ii For Peter, may we always continue to dream. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES vi LIST OF TABLES vii ABSTRACT viii INTRODUCTION 1 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 3 Historical Perspectives of Families 3 Characteristics of Chronic Mental Illnesses 5 Stressors on the Families of the Mentally III 8 Emotional Reactions to Mental Illness 14 Cognitive Reactions to Mental Illness 15 Impact on Health 17 Families Coping with Mental Illness 18 Social Support as a Moderator 23 The Family's Response Over Time 24 Sibling Contact with the Mentally III Family Member 27 Purpose of the Study 29 Hypotheses 30 METHOD 32 Participants 32 Sibling Diagnosis 33 Procedure 34 PredictorVariables 35 Outcome Variables 35 Control Variables 36 Measures 35 V RESULTS 46 Demographics 46 Correlations 52 Hypothesis Testing 55 Exploratory Analyses 59 DISCUSSION 69 Adverse Effects of Mental Illness on Well Siblings 69 Protection Against Adverse Effects 71 Clinical Implications 73 Limitations of the Study 75 Directions for Future Research 77 General Summary 78 APPENDIX A. LETTERS TO PARTICIPANTS 79 APPENDIX B. INFORMED CONSENT 83 APPENDIX C. SIBLING QUESTIONNAIRE 85 APPENDIX D. CORROBORATOR QUESTIONNAIRE 103 APPENDIX E. RESPONSES TO OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS 107 REFERENCES CITED 116 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 125 vl LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The Interaction Between Frequency of Contact and Coping In Predicting Psychological Distress Fgure 2. The Interaction Between Frequency of Contact andC oping in Predicting Impact on Relationships RgureS. The Interaction Between Severity and Coping in Predicting Depression